Teen Titans: The Rewrite
by LoVe JH writer15
Summary: The series we loved with the couple we yearned for. Birds of a feather...
1. Chapter 1

I've wanted to do a rewrite of the series for a long time, so though I promise my other story will continue to be updated, I will also be doing this story. There are some Teen Titans episodes I think should remain the same as they will not affect the Robin/Raven storyline here, but there are some episodes that I will change completely. For some episodes, maybe I'll add a few lines or do some character thoughts and be done with it. I've seen three fanfic writers attempt this, but I haven't seen anyone finish it and do the whole series. I want to be ambitious and say I will finish… but time will tell. As always, I encourage criticism and if someone is OOC, please tell me and I will do my best to fix it, I promise! I won't go through every second of the episode because I plan to jump around, fixing what I want so I hope you guys like the work overall.  
Ok, this was long. I will begin with the second episode of the series and leave the first episode (Final Exam) as it is. Here we go.

**Sisters**

Raven hated fairs and carnivals and festivals and all those events which brought the loud enjoyment of crowds and culminated in explosions of emotion that made her empathy taxing. That was why she was currently miserable, trailing behind the four Titans who were overjoyed at the lights and attractions of the annual Jump City Fair.

Beast Boy had heard about the fair when he visited the video game store for the latest Mega Monkeys game and ran home at the speed of a cheetah (literally) to inform the others. Robin thought the fair would be a good opportunity for team bonding. He seemed dead set on constructing an indestructible unit of the Teen Titans and Raven suspected his mysterious past with the Caped Crusader had something to do with his obsession with control. Robin had them training for hours every day, not including nightly patrols around the city. The Titans had only been together two months and Robin sought to solidify all their relationships to ensure success in battle.

Robin and Cyborg got along great, becoming almost instant best friends. Beast Boy and Cyborg got along even better, sharing a love for inhaling buckets of food and playing video games at obnoxious volumes. Robin and Beast Boy weren't necessarily close, but guys got along easily with handshakes, nods, and competition. Starfire was adored by all because of her naïveté and sweet temperament. She was new to Earth and dependent on others to guide her through daily life. This was some sort of turn on to men. Robin and Starfire seemed to have a relationship that went above friendship and they engaged in some flirting every now and then though Starfire seemed more into it then their masked leader did.

Raven was the odd one out, but she felt a familial connection with Cyborg. He acted the part of the big brother, giving her friendly advice and bringing her out of her constant gloom and doom to help him with his car or with the grocery shopping. Beast Boy annoyed her to no end and knowing this, he bothered her incessantly. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he had a crush on her. Starfire (possibly because she watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) wanted to be best friends with the only other female on the team. She tried coaxing Raven out of her room to join her at the beauty salon or clothing stores but Raven always refused and Starfire's green eyes would sadden. Raven felt bad that she was hurting the alien girl, but she really didn't know how to get along with her and thought the Tameranean's emotional outbursts were dangerous to her power control. Finally, there was Raven and Robin.

The two birds were not close, in fact they barely spoke two sentences to each other on a day to day basis, but each recognized unbridled intelligence and seriousness in the other. As the leader, Robin wanted the team to help him coordinate attacks and give input on battle strategy, yet no one except Raven had the mentality to do it. They had spent some time together looking through dossier files on villains in Jump and nearby towns, discussing defensive and offensive strategies, but that was it. They never spent quality time together doing anything non-work related. But, Robin intended to change that.

Robin had not chosen the fair to use as a team bonding experience, he had chosen the fair to use as a get to know Raven experience. He had the whole thing planned. He would usher the other three off and get the dark sorceress alone. Maybe then she would reveal her true self. Robin knew the girl was hiding more than just hey body under that cloak. Raven was more than the antisocial one and Robin wanted to know more about her. He couldn't rationally explain his interest in his petite teammate. It could be that Robin, trained by the Great Detective himself, loved to solve every puzzle that presented itself, which Raven was. It could also be that as the leader, Robin was responsible for harmony between all his teammates and he had yet to find any with Raven. Still, a little voice in his head whispered another possibility.

_She interests you because she's beautiful but unattainable. She has a darkness to her that could rival yours, something Starfire could never offer you. You want Raven for yourself. _

Robin cursed those thoughts away as the Titans reached a food stand. Cyborg and Beast Boy ordered popcorn, nachos, and humungous sodas, while Starfire timidly chose cotton candy, staring at with wide eyed wonder as the other two urged her to taste it without fear. Robin chose funnel cake for himself and turned to Raven, who had her hood up and her gaze trained on the floor.

"Do you want anything, Raven?" he asked and she jumped, most likely surprised someone was addressing her.

"No." the careful monotone replied.

He didn't push her, knowing there was enough of that coming later.

"I wish to take home one of those giant yellow creatures." Starfire pointed at one of the game booths where the prize was an oversized chicken the color of the sun.

"I think I can arrange that." Beast Boy made a show of cracking his knuckles.

"I'd like to see you try, grass stain. You need precision and timing to win those games-two things you definitely don't have." Cyborg teased, causing the changeling to glare.

"I'm getting that chicken."

"I doubt it." The half-robot smirked.

Beast Boy snarled.

"Come on, Star, I'm getting you that chicken." He pulled the girl along and she gave Robin one final glance before turning to the ring toss booth.

"You guys coming?" Cyborg asked.

Raven shook her head and Robin hid a grin.

"Nah, you go and keep an eye on them for me."

"So where are you going?"

"Ferris wheel."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow and looked over at Raven, who made no sign of agreement or disagreement.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive." Robin smiled broadly and Cyborg shrugged before muttering.

"Your funeral."

After the tall Titan had joined the other two, Robin took a few casual steps closer to the hooded girl.

"Are you up for it?"

"What?"

"The Ferris wheel." He nodded towards the spinning attraction.

"You're joking." She deadpanned.

"I'm not."

Even with the hood shielding her face, her eyes revealed her confusion.

"What are you trying to achieve?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with you. Is that so wrong?"

"I just don't understand why you didn't ask Starfire."

_Ah, so she's noticed that. _Robin thought to himself. _I should be more careful. Starfire's a great girl but there's no chance a long-term relationship will work. We're just too different. I may be accidentally leader her on._

"I can answer any questions for you if you ride the Ferris wheel with me." He said cheekily.

She eyed him warily but finally she sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

The view from the top of the Ferris wheel was wonderful and Raven could see the faint glow of Titan Tower in the distance, a permanent emblem in Jump City that reminded people they were protected from evil. It was too bad, no one knew what kind of evil resided in one of the heroes trusted to save the world. Raven hadn't told anyone about her prophecy or her father's identity and she was not planning to do so anytime soon. She could control her powers, her emotions, and her future on her own. There was no need to drag her teammates (friends?) into it.

"Enjoying the ride?" Robin's deep murmur broke her out of her thoughts and she turned to the boy next to her as if seeing him for the first time.

Up here, in the gentle breeze of late summer, everything seemed more beautiful. The night sky was ethereal in its navy shades. The city was a concrete paradise, stretching on endlessly. Robin, already handsome in regular circumstances, was illuminated by the moon, making his features quite impressive. The strong jaw and high cheekbones, the soft looking pink lips, the spiked ebony hair. Something exploded in the fair and Raven winced, surveying the ground for the destruction. Thankfully, it had only been a lone trash can and no one had been close enough to be injured or covered in garbage.

"Raven? Are you okay?" Robin's brow furrowed in concern and she cursed her lack of control.

This was why she didn't allow her emotions to reign. Yes, she found Robin attractive but no, she couldn't act on it so what was the point?

"Fine." She said curtly and he sighed inaudibly.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know. I may be the team leader, but I care more about being your friend than your boss."

"Sure."

"I'm serious. I care about you-all of you." He paused, hoping she didn't notice the slip. "I know you like your privacy and your silence but I'd like to know you better and really be your friend. Someone you can talk to and hang out with. The same way you do with Cyborg."

He felt a small sting of jealousy at the thought, but that was the truth. Cyborg was the only one who could speak regularly with Raven and actually joked around with her, even if she didn't react. The fact that the android could get close enough to ruffle her hair and poke her to annoy her was amazing. When Beast Boy tried, he was smacked with household objects, courtesy of Raven's powers.

"That's different." She said and he was surprised she was responding to him.

"How so?"

"Cyborg is… like the older brother I didn't get to have. He's overprotective and nosey but he means well. It's actually kind of nice."

"Oh." Robin felt stupid for envying a relationship that was clearly one of sibling affection and nothing more.

"Why do you care now? The team formed two months ago, so why now?"

"I don't have an answer for that. I should have approached you sooner. The only time we speak is when we're planning for battles and even then it's minimal."

"Yes. You save your conversations for Starfire."

Robin flushed at the reminder of the pretty alien.

"Yeah, well, that's a mistake."

"Pardon?"

"I don't like Star _that way_. I mean, I admit I flirt with her but it's not serious."

"I see. I think you should make that clear to her."

"I know."

There was an uncomfortable silence that Robin had to break.

"Want some funnel cake?"

Raven looked at the fried dough in his outstretched hand and frowned.

"Why is it called funnel cake?"

"I'm not sure. But, it's good, trust me. Try it." He insisted and she slowly reached out to tear a piece off and pop it in her mouth.

He watched her chew it, chastising himself for lingering on her lips for so long and waited.

"Good?"

"Yes." She admitted.

"Want some more?"

She nodded and they ate the pastry in a pleasant silence, watching the sky. Before Robin could ask Raven anything about herself, there was a loud bang as the display of fireworks commenced.

"Beautiful." Raven whispered, pushing her hood down to fully see the light show.

"Yeah." Robin breathed, eyes trained on her and oblivious to the fireworks. "Beautiful."

He'd never been so close to her with her hood down and her emotionless façade broken. Raven was stunning with her bright amethyst eyes aglow matching the exotic shine of her skin.

A scream broke the serene moment and the birds recognized the feminine tone to be Starfire's.

"What is that thing?" Raven asked, standing in the box and gaping at the tentacle creature that had wrapped Starfire in a death grip and was dragging her away into the sky.

Cyborg and Beast Boy had jumped into action with the latter in pterodactyl form, holding the robot man in his claws as he blasted sonic beams at the purple creature.

"We need to help Starfire. Can you carry me?" Robin asked and the empath gave a brief nod, levitating above the Ferris wheel and extending her hands to him.

He grabbed the slender hands and held on as she flew after the others.

* * *

The fight had been difficult but Robin had finally ripped the animatronic creature open and destroyed its circuits with Cyborg's help. The Titans had arrived home, tired and worried at the new threat. Cyborg had just flipped the lights on when Starfire emitted another scream, though this one was not of fear but of happiness.

"Sister!" the redhead jumped into the open arms of a black haired girl dressed in armor similar to Starfire's.

The introductions were made and soon Blackfire was the hit of the room. The boys were thoroughly enchanted by the older Tamaranean and though Raven admired the girl's knowledge of chakras, she suspected malicious intentions in her demeanor. As Blackfire recounted a trip around the Centauri moons and other planets, Raven tentatively probed Blackfire's mind. She gave a silent gasp at the images she was able to grasp.

Blasts of pink energy. Screams of pain. Heavy, gray shackles. An alien with stern features and a gun extended.

"So who's up for a party?" Blackfire spoke up and Raven turned back to the scene in front of her.

"That sounds cool!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"But, Sister, I thought we could do the catching up tonight. We have not seen each other in many gorthags."

"Yes, the years have been many. I have missed you, little sister, and I brought you a present from my travels to prove how much I thought about you." She presented Starfire with a large green gem. "It matches your eyes."

Starfire gasped at the necklace, thoroughly complacent, and Blackfire didn't hesitate to convince the other Titans of the party. Though she told Raven it was in an abandoned warehouse, that wasn't what made Raven want to go. She needed to keep an eye on Blackfire and discover the real reason she was on Earth. There was something off about her and the images Raven got from her mind made her more suspicious.

"Everything okay, Sunshine?" Cyborg asked her as the Titans left the tower.

"We'll see."

* * *

The party was pointless. The music that blasted was irritating and the lyrics were vulgar and repetitive. There were too many people crowded in the musty room and Raven felt the swirl of her emotions threaten to choke her. She couldn't investigate Blackfire with her powers because she felt like her head was about to burst from the emotional onslaught of the room. Besides, the older girl had pulled Robin and the other guys to the dance floor to begin a variety of inappropriate dance moves Raven had only seen on MTV (and only because Cyborg forced her to).

After saving Starfire from a verbal misunderstanding about shovels, Raven retreated to the roof of the club for some air. She sat in her preferred lotus position and chanted her mantra softly to block out the mix of emotions downstairs. Unfortunately, she was interrupted by a certain sniffling Tamaranean.

"Friend Raven?"

"What's wrong?"

The taller girl sighed and took a seat next to Raven.

"It is my sister. She was always the favorite growing up. Our parents made their preference clear. They seemed to forget about me. Just like everyone else has now that Blackfire is here."

"That's not true. I haven't forgotten about you."

"But you do not care for me as a friend. I am a bother to you, correct?" she asked sadly and Raven shook her head.

"No, Star, that's not correct. I do care for you as a friend and you don't bother me. We're just… different that's all. It's hard to get used to you, but I can try harder."

"Oh, thank you, friend!" she pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Starfire-air-please."

She released her.

"I apologize, friend."

"It's okay." Raven gasped, adjusting her cloak.

"Why are you here all alone? Is it due to my sister's presence?"

"No, it's just all those people. I'm not good with… people." She said lamely, choosing not to go in detail about her powers.

"I understand, friend. If you do not mind, I shall stay here and keep you company."

"You don't want to join the party?" Raven was surprised the exuberant girl wasn't enjoying the music and liveliness.

"Blackfire has chosen Robin as her partner in the dancing and I…"

"And you wanted to dance with him because you like him." Raven said it without question and Raven sighed.

"Yes, I believe I do."

Raven had not forgotten about her friend's feelings towards their leader. It was a precarious situation at the moment. Blackfire and Starfire wanted Robin's attentions and though Raven wanted a place too, she could never display her emotions or fight for what she wanted. As if he'd been summoned, Robin suddenly appeared on the roof.

"There you two are. I was wondering where you'd gone."

"Really? Last I saw you were wrapped up in Blackfire. How kind of you to notice our absence though." Raven said, a trace of anger in her usual monotone.

Robin looked confused and Raven didn't blame him. She hadn't meant to reveal any of her thoughts, but the words had left her mouth before she could stop them. Thankfully, Starfire took over and captured Robin's attention.

"Yes, Robin, you are getting along very well with my sister. I did not think you noticed anything else. Or anyone else." She said sadly.

"What do you mean by that, Star?"

Before the conversation could continue, Blackfire appeared in a pink wig to drag Robin back to the party. He had no chance to protest before he was whisked away. Starfire sighed.

"Your sister's not so nice. How did you live with that through childhood?"

"It was not easy, but I love my sister and cannot fault her for being better than I am."

"She isn't better than you, Starfire. Why would you think that?"

That night no conversation could be finished. At that moment, another tentacled creature came up behind the alien girl and pulled her away screaming.

"Star!" Raven quickly phased through the floor, searching for her teammates.

She saw Cyborg first and ran to him.

"Cyborg! Starfire's been taken again!"

He stopped dancing and moved into action.

"You stay on her trail. I'll get the others."

Raven phased outside and found Starfire in the alley, fighting the creature on her own. Raven let her power flare to her arms and threw dumpsters and crates alongside Starfire's starbolts. The creature didn't back down, though, and with one tentacle it threw the girls apart causing Raven to land hard against the wall and recapture Starfire. Before it could get far, the rest of the team and Blackfire appeared. Cyborg helped Raven up and the others attacked the creature. Blackfire flew behind the attacker and shot a single starbolt at a spot on its back. It crashed to the ground, releasing Starfire, who landed upside down in an open dumpster.

"Good job!" Beast Boy praised Blackfire.

"How did you know where to hit it?" Robin asked.

"Lucky shot?" she shrugged innocently.

"We need that kind of luck around here! How do you feel about joining the Teen Titans?" Cyborg asked excitedly.

Starfire gasped from her spot in the dumpster and Raven's eyes narrowed under her hood from her position behind Cyborg and Robin.

This wasn't right. Blackfire's innocent face was false and Raven saw right through it. There was something going on here and she had to inform Robin about it.

* * *

The next morning Raven woke up and took a quick shower, ready to visit Robin's room and tell him about her suspicious regarding Blackfire. She was halfway to his room when she came across Starfire.

"Friend, have you seen Robin today?"

"No, but I can help you look for him."

"Many thanks, friend." Starfire smiled and Raven led the way to the training room, the only other place their leader could have been so early.

Raven wasn't sure what Starfire had to say to Robin, but it was best to get that out of the way so that Raven could mention what she saw in Blackfire's mind.

The girls were about to round the corner to the training room when they heard Blackfire's haughty voice resonate.

"That's right, hold me like this and now-

The shadows of Blackfire and what had to be Robin merged in a kiss and Starfire's hands flew to her mouth, suppressing a gasp or sob. She ran down the opposite hallway, tears raining from her emerald eyes and the noise must have alerted Robin of their presence because he came out of the training room, sweaty from some workout and saw Raven standing there.

"Raven? What happened? Were you… crying?"

"I wasn't. But Starfire was."

"Why?"

"It might have something to do with her sister kissing the guy she likes."

"Her sister kissing-wait that didn't happen." Robin almost stammered and Raven raised an eyebrow.

"That's what it looked like."

"But I didn't kiss her. She was teaching me a battle move and she moved in close, but we did not kiss." He said with finality.

"You don't have to convince me. Starfire's the one crying."

Robin bit back the first thing that came to his mind which was that he cared more about Raven's opinion of him than Starfire.

"I'll talk to her."

Raven knew she needed to talk to him about the grand troublemaker that was Blackfire, but she sensed Starfire's deep melancholy and felt her presence on the roof.

"Now would be good. She's planning to leave us." Raven announced and Robin didn't question how she knew.

"Can you teleport us there?"

She touched his arm.

"This may feel strange." She warned and a second later her black aura deposited them on the roof, where Starfire was floating in the air with a knapsack on her back.

"You weren't going to goodbye?" Robin said and Starfire whirled, wiping her eyes of a few stray tears.

"I did not think you would care."

"Of course I would. You're a Titan, Starfire. The team needs you. You're our friend and we care about you."

Starfire's face brightened.

"You care about me, Robin?"

"You know I do, Star."

The alien girl smiled her usual megawatt smile and was going to step on the roof again when a mass of purple tentacles grabbed her from behind, pulling her away from her friends once more.

"Seriously? How many of these things are there?" Robin asked rhetorically, throwing explosive discs at the creature.

Starfire cried out as she flew farther and farther away.

"Starfire! I'm coming!" Raven shouted, levitating and flying rapidly after the creature.

"Raven, wait!" Robin called but it was too late and he was left staring after them.

* * *

When Raven caught up to the creature, it had reached a large ship that opened to allow the creature access inside. Raven flew after it, waiting until it slowed down to summon a black energy disc that cut all its tentacles off and freed Starfire.

"Friend Raven! You saved me."

"I had to, Star. You're my friend, remember?"

"Thank you." She said with a gentle smile.

"Stop right there! You are interfering with international justice!" a voice growled from behind her and when Raven turned she recognized the alien as the one from Blackfire's mind.

"But we are the good guys, are we not friend Raven?" Starfire asked confusedly.

"This is finally falling into place. These are international police and they aren't after you, they're after Blackfire. She was running from the law and my guess is it has to do with this gem." Raven unclasped the necklace and handed it to the guard.

"Smart girl. This is the Centauri moonstone that was stolen from us weeks ago. We have been tracking it since and searching for the thief. You know of her location?"

"Oh yes." Raven grinned. "And we can help you retrieve your prisoner too. Right, Star?"

Starfire, now caught up with the situation and her sister's lies, had her green eyes aglow with fury.

"Yes, friend. It is time for my sister to pay for her crimes."

* * *

Blackfire was zooming towards the clouds, thinking her journey to Tamaran was guaranteed. The three male Titans were fooled by her act and the only people who could stop her were miles away, either caught or captured by the very people after her. The plan had gone down without a hitch and when she arrived on Tameran she could simply take the throne as hers. Life was good.

Or so she thought before a green starbolt hit her in the face and sent her reeling backwards.

* * *

Raven watched the sisters' battle with a satisfied smirk, knowing Starfire would defeat her easily and then Blackfire would be sent to intergalactic jail far far away from all of them.

"is that a smile I see?" Robin asked, his breath touching her sensitive earlobe, making her jump and something in the distance explode.

He laughed and she glowered.

"I'm not smiling, though I am glad she's leaving."

"Not a fan of Blackfire?"

"Certainly not as much as you are."

He chuckled.

"It was momentary interest, nothing more."

"Be careful with your interests, Robin. Someone could end up getting hurt." she threw a pointed look at Starfire, who was waving goodbye to her handcuffed sister.

Robin knew what the undertone of her words meant and he frowned. He hadn't meant to care for any girl again after his failed relationship with Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. Still, despite Raven's warning he was preoccupied not with Starfire but with the dark girl herself. And that might turn out dangerous for everyone on the team.

_The heart wants what it wants. _Robin thought, his eyes wandering back to Raven's exotic features.

* * *

(Phew, that was crazy long! Ok, the next episode I will rewrite using this storyline will be Nevermore. However, I will do small chapters for the three in between just to add more Rae/Rob moments so expect those soon.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Divide and Conquer**

It had been a couple of weeks since the Blackfire incident and life in Titan Tower regained its normalcy. Beast Boy and Cyborg argued over breakfast options then settled down in front of the Game Cube to resolve their differences. Starfire trailed longingly behind Robin, chattering about any and every topic to keep his attention focused on her. And Raven was left alone to meditate peacefully on the roof.

These were the external monotonies of life, but there were some things that had changed, though they were not as visible. As Starfire overwhelmed Robin with her attentions, Robin would nod when he thought it appropriate and allow his mind and occasionally his eyes to wander to the resident empath. She would be reading a thick leather-bound book in the corner of the living room and he would let his masked gaze explore her soft curvature and sensual features. She would sometimes let her lips twitch with formations of a smile when a particularly interesting part of her novels called for it. Her plum-colored eyes twinkled with amusement once when the Titans had been on patrol and she witnessed a shooting star in the sky. Robin was noticing these little details and saving them in a special folder of his mind marked **Raven**.

Another change was occurring in the object of Robin's scrutiny, though the Boy Wonder was unaware of it. Raven could feel his stares and could sense when he was focused on her because of the subtle shift of his emotions. She could read his fascination and his interest, but she didn't fully comprehend why this was centered on her and not the model-like girl by his side on the couch. Raven had never felt wanted by a member of the opposite sex (Cyborg was after all only a brother to her) and Robin's newfound awareness regarding her was disconcerting. Did he like her as more than a teammate or a friend? And if so… why?

The final change bubbling in Titan Tower had to do with the eldest Titan and his building frustration with his leader. Cyborg had not minded joining the Titans and following the orders of a boy two years his junior because he trusted Robin's skill and the name he'd made for himself with Batman. Still, Cyborg did not appreciate the way Robin barked orders left and right and came up with training procedures to push everyone to their limits and much more. He seemed power-hungry and set on proving… something to… someone and Cyborg thought it was a mistake, but he had bitten his tongue at every overdrawn lecture and criticism Robin gave him. It was this underlying tension that would soon erupt and put them all in danger.

* * *

The hulking stone creature known as Cinderblock had given the Titans a serious pounding before running away to initiate a total jail break. Robin had turned to Cyborg and ordered the use of a power move he'd come up with for the two. Cyborg nodded and ran forward to perform the move, overcompensating his jump in the air and crashing into Robin, causing a sonic blast to hit the unsuspecting Starfire and Beast Boy, as well as skewing the path of Robin's explosive disc straight into Raven's unprotected body.

Though none of the Titans were hurt by the miscalculated Sonic Boom, Robin was steaming with anger. The team managed to control the jail break but were too late to stop Cinderblock, who had taken an unknown prisoner from some solitary cell and disappeared.

"Nice going, Cyborg. Your jump was way off range and I didn't see the mistake coming until it was too late." Robin grumbled and Raven winced as she saw Cyborg's face darken and felt his anger take over.

"You're blaming me for this?"

"Who else?"

"What about you!"

"Me? I created this move for us and it's always worked in training, but you changed it in the moment and look where it got us!"

"This isn't training and I thought I could do it!"

"You were wrong!"

"I messed up, Robin, but so did you and now you're putting all the blame on me as if you weren't there."

"I was there and I saw firsthand that it was your fault."

Cyborg was going to shoot back with an insult, but Raven stepped between them.

"Enough. Cinderblock got away and arguing won't get him back."

"Friend Raven is correct. We must return home to search for this villain." Starfire pointed out.

"Yeah, dudes, chill out."

Cyborg and Robin turned their backs on each other and each murmured an insult under their breaths.

"What did you just say?!" they snarled, hearing the comment about themselves.

"You heard me! You're a controlling little twerp with too much hair gel on his big head!"

"And you're a whiny robot whose feet smell like oil!"

"I don't even know why I'm on this team with you!"

"Neither do I! You're off the team!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Cyborg stalked off in the direction of the Jump City streets as Robin made for his motorcycle, speeding back to the tower.

"Oh dear." Starfire whispered, her head turning to watch both boys' retreating backs.

"I can't believe that just happened." Beast Boy murmured.

Raven blamed herself for not seeing it sooner. Her closest friend and her self-titled older brother had a disgruntled aura about him and that meant his feelings were of frustration and anger. If she had been less into herself and her stray thoughts about Robin, she could have stopped this from happening.

* * *

A few days had passed and the mood around Titan Tower was gloomier than usual. Beast Boy would tear up when he looked at the Game Cube or a package of bacon. Starfire kept herself busy in the kitchen, concocting a so-called Pudding of Sadness, which took the consumer's mind off of their problems and onto the disgusting taste of dead rat it brought. Starfire missed the robotic teen, of course, but her worry lay more on Robin, who spent more time in his room than out of it and only left when he absolutely needed to eat or check the city map for criminal activity, which there had been none of. Cinderblock had gone to who knew where.

For her part, Raven was sad, but giving in to this emotion was disastrous and she'd already blown up a radio, blender, and flowerpot. She was attempting to read one of her favorite novels in the living room, but was distracted by Beast Boy's lonely whimpers and Starfire's constant offers of Tamaranean pudding. Robin was shut up in his room, avoiding the consequences of his temper and arrogance. Raven had had enough. She slammed the book on the coffee table, causing her fellow Titans to yelp, and stalked out of the room with one destination in mind.

* * *

Robin was staring at the plaster of his bedroom ceiling. He hadn't failed to notice the other Titans' sadness but he was busy suppressing his own. He wasn't able to look Raven in the eye, either, knowing she must be missing her "brother" more than anyone else. He was so immersed in his thoughts, he was stunned at the abrupt arrival of a cloaked figure in the center of his room, bearing a deathly glower and scowl.

"Raven! How did you get inside my room?" he asked nervously, sitting up to watch the dark girl advance until she was glaring down at him.

"I didn't come here to answer any questions from you. I came to knock some sense into you because clearly you've lost all of it."

He opened his mouth to protest but a flick of her wrist formed a covering of black energy to prevent his speaking.

"I told you I'd be the one doing the talking. We need Cyborg back and it's not because we question your leadership or want him as the leader. He doesn't even want that. We just want the team to be whole again and for you to ease up on the tyrant side of you. You may be our leader but that does not give you the right to dictate our every breath or pressure us in training sessions and in battle. Do you understand?"

Robin nodded, still muffled by her power.

"Good. You're going to call Cyborg and apologize." She teleported his communicator to her hand and released the bond over his lips.

"Raven-

"I wasn't asking you, Robin."

"I know. I was going to say thank you."

"Oh." She looked at the floor, feeling a bit awkward.

"Rae?"

She looked up at the nickname and saw him smiling.

"Are you going to tell me what to say too or are you just sticking around to hang out in my bedroom?"

She flushed and backed out of the room, meaning to use the door this time. Robin was grinning at this as he dialed Cyborg's number but the blaring alarm of the tower forced him to shut the communicator before the call connected.

"Trouble." Raven said and didn't ask as she touched Robin's shoulder and teleported them to the living room with the others.

* * *

The battle with the newly introduced Plasmus had been strenuous and had ended only when Cyborg appeared, sporting his usual grin, to help Robin take the shifty villain down. Cyborg reported that he'd subdued Cinderblock a few blocks away and was presenting him as a peace offering to Robin.

"I got your call, but when my sensors alerted me of the attacks, I knew there was trouble. It was the effort that counted, though." Cyborg said and Robin shot Raven a sheepish look.

"Yeah, well, I had some help with that."

"I'm not surprised. You're hard-headed and stubborn, man. It must take a strong will to overcome yours."

Raven snorted.

* * *

Robin found her on the roof, sitting casually with her legs dangling over the roof, her hood down and her eyes trained on the waning moon.

"Hey." He said, taking a seat next to her, his thigh brushing hers.

"Couldn't sleep?" she referred to the late hour.

"I get my best work done after midnight."

"I'm guessing that means researching Slade?"

"These attacks weren't random. Cinderblock was ordered to break Plasmus from jail. That hunk of stone isn't smart enough to think of that himself."

"Slade must be pulling the strings of the operation."

Robin nodded.

"And I doubt he's finished yet."

"We'll be ready for it." Raven said and Robin turned to face her.

"Thanks to you we will be."

"Me?" she was surprised and it showed in the inflection of her voice.

"Yes, you. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten over myself and reached out to Cyborg. He might not have returned if I hadn't made that effort. You were the only one to tell me the truth and point out that I was wrong."

"It was nothing." She said dismissively.

"No." he was firm. "It meant a lot to me. It's not often someone sees through my bullshit." He said bluntly. "You're a special one, Rae."

She hated the warmth that came over with her when Robin used the nickname he'd made up.

"Is that a good thing?"

He chuckled.

"Definitely."

"Then I guess you're special too, Robin."

"You guess?" he mocked and she glared.

"I'm not here to feed your ego, you know."

"Damn, and I was counting on you to tell me I'm as pretty as I feel."

Raven's lips revealed a large smile and Robin vowed to do whatever he had to do to see that smile again.

"How feminine of you."

"True men don't shy away from their more delicate side."

"You are not what I expected, Boy Wonder." She shook her head and he grinned.

"How low were your expectations?"

She didn't answer and he guessed they were really low and she was being kind enough to keep that to herself.

"The other night when we saw that shooting star, did you happen to make a wish on it?" he asked and Raven shot him a puzzled glance.

"A wish? Is that a tradition here?"

Robin forgot Raven, like Starfire, was not from Earth. Though he didn't know exactly where she originated from, it wasn't Earth. Raven was just more subtle than Starfire, whose constant fuselage of questions could become irritating at times.

"It is. You make a wish and hopefully it comes true."

"It's too late now. The star's long gone." She replied, watching the night sky again.

"We can pretend."

"Okay." She breathed and closed her eyes for several seconds before opening them again.

"What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you, it won't come true."

"We're just pretending, though."

"Then pretend I told you." She grinned and stood, dusting off her cloak, and walking away.

Robin watched her leave with a mystified smile on his face. The more he got to know her, the more his feelings grew. She didn't seem to be closing herself off from him, which for Raven was serious progress. She had even smiled more than once without visible explosions. Robin turned back to the sky and the starless night, content to think of his own wishes, shooting star or not.

* * *

I am really excited about this story. Ok, so Forces of Nature will be skipped because I don't have anything to change, but I will do something for Sum of His Parts and definitely one for Nevermore.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, so I'm not really sure how people feel about this story, since I haven't received reviews for it, but I still like the concept and I hope you guys will too. I'll update Winner Takes All later today as well.

I'm trying to show the Titan relationships in a new light and give them more character than on the show. Starfire was used as primarily Robin's love interest, which was incredibly annoying, so I try to give her more depth and more so in the upcoming episodes. I shall warn you readers that I plan to make it Star/Aqualad in this story to fit in the storyline I've planned.

**The Sum of His Parts**

Cyborg's return had brightened the air around the Tower again and though Cyborg and Robin had grown closer through the experience, Raven could sense a smidgen of sadness in her robotic friend's aura.

The Titans were spending the day at the park, sunshine filtering through the trees, forcing Raven to pull up her hood to remain in shadow as she meditated near the area where the others were eating. Cyborg was the head chef but Beast Boy had to put his tofu dogs to cook, almost burning down an innocent tree. After lunch, Cyborg suggested a friendly football game and Raven assumed the lackluster position of referee.

There were five of them and two teams would make it uneven, so she didn't mind being the off one out. That was her given role, after all.

"Are you sure you don't want to play, Rae?" a soft voice invaded her senses.

Robin looked down at her from her position on the ground, a smile brighter than the sun adorning his sculpted visage.

"Positive."

"Well, at least promise you'll be cheering for me."

"I'm referee not your personal cheerleader."

"Please, Rae."

She wondered why this low tone of his made her heart flip.

"Fine. Besides, if Cyborg's on your team, I'm willing to make the effort."

"Oh so Cyborg merits cheerleading but I don't?"

"Exactly. Glad we're on the same page." She turned to face forward, but didn't miss the grin of amusement on Robin's face as he bounded forward to begin the game.

Raven wasn't a hardcore football fan, but she could follow the sport well enough and Robin had executed a perfect throw to Cyborg, who was running past Starfire's floating form to catch the ball and score a touchdown. He had just caught the ball when his vivid blue circuitry powered down and he fell to the floor with a resonating thud. The other Titans gasped. Raven teleported to his side and touched his arm carefully.

"Cyborg?"

They waited with bated breath as he powered on again with a grim expression on his face. Robin and Beast Boy helped him up as the girls exchanged a worried look.

"Aw man. My battery cell's dying." Cyborg said, checking a monitor in his arm.

"Dying!" Starfire cried.

"It's just a battery, Star. This happens every year around this time. I am part machine, after all. Batteries are what make me function."

"So we just have to go back to the tower?" Beast Boy asked but Cyborg shook his head.

"There's no reason to ruin you guys' fun. I'll go and meet you back here in a half hour." He turned and walked away without further comment.

"Should we keep playing?" Beast Boy addressed Robin who shrugged.

"He said he'd come back. We might as well finish the game… Though, without Cyborg I'm down a player and I can't throw the ball to myself, can I?"

"No." Raven said before he could ask.

"I need you, Raven. You'll make the teams even."

"Come on Raven, I know you don't like fun and happiness, but we do!" Beast Boy not-so-helpfully put in and was met with a pigskin football to the face.

"I'll play if I get to do that again." Raven smiled wickedly and Beast Boy gulped.

The changeling's life was saved by the blinking red lights on the Titans' various communicators and outfits, signaling an attack on the city.

"We'll finish the game some other time. Titans, go!" Robin commanded as they dashed to the scene of the crime.

* * *

The fight with Mumbo in the junkyard had been brief but disheartening. The cackling magician had driven off in a garbage truck and Cyborg was missing. The Titans presumed him to be caught in the back of the garbage truck, captured by Mumbo, but in reality he was deep underground, beneath their very feet with a strange hermetic man names Fix It.

Robin was cursing his own misjudgment on Cyborg's condition as the four Titans chased Mumbo over the city rooftops. Cyborg was malfunctioning and he should not have been in battle. Raven had said something similar, concern glistening in her purple eyes. Robin had looked away from that look, blaming himself as usual. If something happened to his teammate, he wouldn't forgive himself.

Starfire and Raven were flying side by side, keeping their eyes trained on Mumbo, who kept throwing flowers and playing cards at them. One oversized ace of clubs hit Starfire in the chest and sent her toppling to the ground, landing on the unprepared green kangaroo below. Raven kept going but was stopped by a towering brick wall that appeared in mid-air. She barely managed to stop before slamming into the wall, but the obstacle had slowed her down and now only Robin was in touching distance of the clown.

Mumbo saw Robin whip out his Bo staff to attack, so he waved his magic wand to turn the offending weapon into a lethal snake that hissed at the startled Boy Wonder and tried to bite him. Mumbo giggled and skipped away, letting the cobra take care of his problem.

* * *

Cyborg was not afraid of the dark or at least not so much anymore, but it still made him acutely uncomfortable. As a child, monsters under the bed ran through his nightmares and he could never sleep unless a night light was placed in grasping distance. His parents had worried he would be socially impaired or somehow affected by this extreme fear, but this had not been the case. Victor Stone had been the top athlete and social butterfly any parent would admire and his high school years were some of the best of his life. Still, he never told anyone that the dark still unsettled him and he would always sleep with his curtains open so that the moonlight would spill into his room and protect him from the shadows that lay dormant waiting for the chance to strike.

It was this thought that made Cyborg squirm in the clasps Fix It had placed around his body. He did not like the underground lair with the dim light bulbs and dimmer inhabitants. There was no life here, no laughter, no love. Nothing. It was an emptiness the rowdy Victor Stone was unaccustomed to, as it never occurred at Titan Tower or really anywhere else. The only person around was a detached man who feared the world above him and thought closing himself off was the best way to live. Cyborg was reminded of Raven, who practiced something similar, though she at least allowed herself to be coaxed into team interactions and didn't bury herself underground to escape it all.

Thinking about Raven and the rest of the team saddened Cyborg. He watched Fix It prepare to remove the parts of his brain that stood for emotions and memories and wanted to cry out. Cyborg had lost his normalcy and most of his humanity with his accident but he had not lost his innate warmth and his memories. He loved his friends and his past, even loved his new body, robotic parts and all.

"Please don't do this." Cyborg pleaded but Fix It made no signs of having heard.

* * *

Robin could see the black coattails of Mumbo's suit jacket and he ran faster, passing his teammates, ready to pummel the clown with his bare hands the second he got close enough. The villain saw this and whirled once to aim his magic at the roof Robin was running on, creating a hole in the ground that Robin could not jump over. He fell through the roof, seeing only darkness below, and stretched his arms to the sky, praying for a miracle. A miracle that came in the form of a petite sorceress with lavender hair and eyes.

"Need a lift?" she grasped his hands in her own, flying them both out of the black hole and back to the familiar cerulean skies.

"My life flashed before my eyes."

"Don't be dramatic, Robin. We'd never let you fall to your death."

"I would hope not."

She smiled and flew after the others, who had closed in on Mumbo and were shooting him with starbolts or in Beast Boy's case, ink from his squid tentacles.

"Can you launch me at him?"

"I can try." She said, knowing her physical strength was limited.

When she was in perfect range, she spun Robin around and with a grunt threw him at Mumbo, who yelped but was unable to fend off Robin's high kick. Robin grabbed the magic wand and broke it in two. Mumbo cried as his spells fell apart and the bags of money he'd stolen plopped out of his pockets.

"Where's Cyborg?" Robin demanded, pulling the thief up by his collar.

"I don't know!"

"You lie!" Starfire's eyes glowed a neon green and Mumbo gulped.

"No, I'm telling the truth! All the magic comes from my wand. When you broke it, you broke all my spells. If I had him, he would have been here by now."

The Titans turned to each other in bewilderment.

"But if Cyborg isn't here then he must be-

"Back at the junkyard!" Beast Boy finished Raven's thought.

"So do I still have to go to jail?" Mumbo asked.

His reply came in the form of a bright starbolt to the face.

* * *

When the Titans finally found their missing friend, they were surprised to see him kneeling next to a black-clad figure and assuring him he could help him heal. Cyborg explained briefly what had occurred to the Titans and then turned back to Fix It.

"I think it's time for you to see what's up there. It may surprise you."

"I-I am not sure I can." Fix It stammered but Cyborg gave a reassuring smile.

"You gotta try, man. You can't stay down here forever."

And Fix It did return to the surface and as he gazed at the sun's eternal rays and the breeze moving the trees and the people in the park, he smiled for the first time in a decade.

* * *

The football game was in full swing and Raven was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself. Cyborg had given her his spot on Robin's team, opting to play Frisbee with two little boys that were in awe at his very presence.

Starfire and Beast Boy had scored one touchdown but Robin and Raven were up by two. Robin was a talented athlete and he would come up with intelligent plays to get the ball to the other side without interference from the flying alien or the shape shifting boy. He would throw the ball heavenward and distract Beast Boy so that Raven could catch the ball and then evade Starfire to score the touchdowns.

At the end, the score was 14 to 35, in favor of the birds and Robin, panting lightly from the game, approached her with a wide grin.

"I knew you could do it."

"I'm sure you did." She replied.

"But I did. You don't give yourself enough credit, Raven. You can hang out with us and stay in control if you want to. You're strong enough to control your powers and your emotions without being withdrawn."

The praise caused her to flush and he smiled at the dusting of her pale cheeks. She had taken off her hood to see the game properly and without it, she knew she couldn't hide from his intense gaze.

"Not a word." She glared and he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Rae."

She rolled her eyes but didn't protest when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her to where the others were drinking lemonade and chomping on potato chips. It had been a beautiful day after all.


	4. Chapter 4

If some of the season 1 episodes aren't so original, I apologize but I found it best to stick close to the show's plot instead of making drastic changes that would make the characters OOC. By the time I start on season 2, you will be able to see more original storylines because I have some great ideas for those episodes.

**Nevermore**

Raven had not gotten to meditate that day. The team had a wake-up-call at dawn because of Robin's training course and little things throughout the day kept distracting Raven, so she could not get to either the roof or the comfort of her room. When the sun had gone down and the Titans were moving slower, lazily almost, Raven had escaped the living room and was halfway to her bedroom when the alarm rang. She had contemplated telling Robin she was not ready for combat because she wasn't sure what condition her emotions were in, but when she's hesitated behind the team, Beast Boy had made a comment about poor stamina and weakness and she'd bit her lip in pride. Pride would seriously screw her over later.

The battle was not an easy one, but Dr. Light was not a criminal mastermind, so the end result would be a Titan victory. This would have been easy to elucidate on any other day. But that day?

Beast Boy was taken down first with a storm of explosive balls that displayed a blinding show of light that messed with his wolf form's delicate eyesight. Starfire was next, captured in a light bubble Dr. Light had thrown at her feet. Cyborg had come up behind him with a heavy weight in his hands, ready to hit the villain, but his penchant for a snappy punch line led to his failure. Dr. Light blasted him with a light blast that left the android trapped in the melted remnants of a car and the street.

"Ready to get your lights knocked out?" Robin, Bo staff extended, dropped down behind the villain and swung with practiced precision at his chest.

Dr. Light staggered back, momentarily distracted, but it wasn't enough. He jumped forward and released a light bomb that exploded and sent Robin sailing backwards where he fell with a sickening thud against a building. Raven gasped and barely refrained from calling out his name.

"If no one minds, I'll be taking my gold and going on my merry way." Dr. Light had the audacity to start whistling as he approached the stolen goods.

"I mind." Raven said, appearing before him with her purple eyes narrowed.

She launched a mailbox at the villain but he dodged it and shot her backwards with the same blast he'd used on Cyborg. She hit the street on her knees and she felt the gravel cut the soft skin of her legs. Yet, that was nothing compared to the agonizing pain in her head as her uncontrolled emotions grappled with her conscious.

"What's the matter, child? Afraid of the light?" he cackled, powering his hands as he approached her hunched over form.

"Don't come any closer." She warned, her tone twisting slightly.

Dr. Light just laughed and shot another blast at her. That was his mistake. Raven was helpless as Rage took over and suddenly she was suspended in the air, glaring down at the villain with demonic eyes the color of fresh blood. Shadowy tentacles extended from her cloak and her body disappeared as the shadows became corporeal.

"Oh." Dr. Light exhaled and stepped back, eyes wide. "I- I apologize. I surrender to you. Here." He threw the gold to the floor and raised his hands, but Raven was too far gone to notice.

"What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?" she used his words against him, her voice a malevolent rasp that sent shivers down any listener's spine.

Before Dr. Light could run away, a pair of adumbral tentacles grabbed him and pulled him into the recesses of Raven's cloak. Agonized screams were heard along with Raven's demonic laughter.

"Raven!"

"Huh?" Raven felt her entire being shift at the sound of Robin's voice and garnet orbs returned to amethyst, as Dr. Light dropped from her grip and she was no longer towering threateningly over them, but at her petite stature once more.

Dr. Light was crouched in the fetal position, rocking himself back and forth, muttering nonsense and trembling intermittingly. Starfire and Beast Boy had knelt to comfort the crazed man. Cyborg had finally gotten himself free and he was staring openmouthed at the villain and then back at Raven. She was staring at the consequences of her loss of control with terror, shaking almost as much as Dr. Light was.

"What did you do, Raven?" Beast Boy asked, which had clearly been the wrong move.

Raven's features contorted again, eyes flaming red and lips parted with venom as she hissed at him. The team gasped and Raven shook her head and was back to normal.

"No." she whispered, stepping away from them.

"Raven, wait." Robin ran forward but she gave him a glance of uninhibited shame and phased through an alley wall, leaving him with nothing but a whoosh of air.

* * *

Raven didn't leave her room for breakfast the next day. Or lunch. Or dinner. When she hadn't appeared for breakfast on the next day, Robin took drastic measures.

"Cyborg."

The half-robot teenager had been working on his car (as he always did when he was anxious or conflicted with something) and had paused at the sound of his best friends' voice.

"What is it?"

Robin gave him a grave look.

"It's Raven."

"She needs time."

"And she's gotten it. I'm worried about health now, both mentally and physically. She hasn't been eating or drinking anything and she hasn't left her room for anything. She needs our help."

"What if she doesn't want it?"

"Tough luck." Robin's eyes narrowed. "She's getting it anyway."

This bravado was gone once the two were in front of the empath's door. Robin kept starting at her printed name, fist raised to knock but useless until then.

"Look at that. Our fearless leader's scared of Raven."

Robin glared at the grinning teen.

"I am not."

"I don't blame you. I'm a bit scared of her at the moment."

"You are?"

Cyborg shrugged.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to help her through anything and everything she needs. If she opens this door and sucks me into the place Dr. Light went, I'll still be there for her. She's my little sister, man, and nothing can change that."

Robin nodded and turned resolutely to the door to knock. There were no sounds of movement, as if Raven wasn't even there. Yet, where else would she be?

"Maybe she's sleeping." Cyborg reasoned.

"We need to make sure she's okay." Robin touched the keypad next to the door, typing Raven's access code in seconds.

The door flew open and Robin and Cyborg were left gazing into nothing. Or at least that's how it looked before their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Whoa." Cyborg said.

The walls were painted a deep purple, as was the carpet, but the curtains were black and so were the bookshelves and creepy decorative masks around the room. Raven's room reflected the air of mystery she carried with her whenever she went but it was also hauntingly beautiful. Just like Raven.

"She's not here." Robin realized.

"That's impossible. She can't be anywhere else." Cyborg was the first to enter the room, making a tour around the length of the room as if Raven were hiding behind the mahogany vanity or the night table.

"Cyborg!" Robin stage whispered, still standing at the doorway. "We can't be in Raven's room. She'd kill us! This is a great invasion of her privacy."

"Says the guy who has her access code memorized like it was his birthday."

Robin flushed.

"I make it a point to know all the access codes in case of an emergency like this one." He recovered.

"Uh-huh. What's mine?"

"It's-It's-you know what I don't have to explain myself to you." He crossed his arms and glared at Cyborg, who was grinning down at him.

Robin then realized he'd moved to stare down Cyborg and was now standing in the center of Raven's room.

"You planned this."

"I do not know what you are referring to." Cyborg replied innocently.

"Wow, look at that." Robin's attention was drawn to an ornate mirror on a large black desk.

"I thought we were respecting her privacy." Cyborg reminded him sardonically but Robin ignored him.

"I've never seen this kind of metal before. It must be from Raven's birthplace." He picked it up to analyze the material, unaware of the mirror's true power.

The second his hands touched the mirror's sides, it activated and four red eyes came alive. Before he could drop the mirror, a black claw grabbed his shirt and pulled him in. Cyborg, standing a few feet away, cried out but to no avail. He was dragged in after his leader.

* * *

Raven had teleported to the roof of the Tower for some much needed air. She felt overwhelmingly guilty for more reasons than one. Yes, she had traumatized and psychologically scarred Dr. Light, but he was still a criminal who had hurt innocent people, so she wasn't too sorry. However, she had allowed her dark side to overwhelm her and frighten the people she did care about. Starfire had looked so scared, as had Beast Boy. Cyborg's expression had been a mix of fear and concern. She knew he had knocked on her door various times the previous day to get her to eat and join the others, but she'd feigned sleep and he's gone away.

And then there was Robin. His voice had reached her and shocked her until she returned to sanity. It had felt like she was on the other side of a desert and his voice had traveled miles to reach her and bring her back. She couldn't see his eyes but she imagined they'd been wide and terrified like the others. Still, he had joined Cyborg at her door a few times and he had tried to reach out to her after the battle. She just couldn't face him after what she'd done.

Raven took a deep breath to clear her mind. She had meditated for 24 hours straight, not stopping to eat or sleep. She knew the others were worried and had felt Robin's unease from her room, but she'd chosen to go to the roof for some last moment of quietude before facing her teammates because she did owe them an explanation.

"But not yet." She told herself and lay back alongside the edge of the roof to gaze wistfully at the sun, whose brightness she could never achieve.

* * *

"We're lost." Cyborg declared after several minutes of unchanging landscape.

"Raven's home is not a pleasant place." Robin added.

The Titans had guessed they had been transported to the dimension that held Raven's home, but so far all they'd seen was a void of floating rocks and crimson stars. No people. No trees. No life.

"I'm not even sure this is her home."

"Where else would Raven's mirror go?"

"I don't know, but my sensors say we're still in the Tower."

"Your sensors may not work in a shift between dimensions or planets." Robin offered.

"Either way, we're lost."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, considering turning back before he spotted a rustle of black wings. "Raven?"

"Correction: ravens."

Cyborg was indeed right. They had come across a large flock of ravens perched on barren trees that now dotted the landscape.

"They're kind of cute." Robin said with a smile.

Though his superhero alias was named after a bird, he used it for its sentimental meaning and not because he was an avid bird watcher or anything. He could recognize a bald eagle and a hummingbird, sure, but he wasn't familiar with many birds. Still, the bird that shared Raven's name brought tenderness from him.

"Turn back." The birds echoed eerily and the guys exchanged a look.

"Uh, did those birds just talk?"

Robin didn't respond because their lack of movement had somehow angered the birds and they took flight in a violent flurry, heading towards their unprotected faces. The two Titans began running forward, dodging the sharp beaks of the ravens until they could no longer hear the heavy flap of wings. They stopped, panting heavily.

"Hi there!" a sunny voice chirped and when the two looked, they were shocked to see that one, it was Raven in a _pink _cloak _grinning _and two, she was standing upright and they were standing on the ceiling.

"Which way is up 'cause I don't know anymore!" Cyborg exclaimed and the floor tilted so that they were suddenly tumbling to the ground and Raven was giggling as they landed in a heap at her feet.

"Nice of you to drop in!" she joked.

The two boys stood up, gaping in incredulity.

"Raven? What are you doing here? Wait, no, why are you wearing pink?" Robin asked, rubbing his head both from the fall and from the confusion.

"'Because it's my favorite color?" she twittered.

"It is?"

"Of course! Pink is light and pretty and reminds me of love! Doesn't it remind you of love, Robin?" her eyes were playful but as magical as he remembered.

"I-I guess so."

"I'm glad you think so. You'll be meeting Love soon and I've gotta tell you, she's quite the handful. Especially with you around."

Robin was so perplexed he just nodded and moved on.

"Do you know the way out of here?"

"Sure, it's through the Forbidden Door." She gestured behind her.

"Forbidden Door? Is that where we have to go?" Cyborg questioned.

"If you've gotta, you've gotta, but it is not a nice place! You don't want to go there. Not now." Raven answered with a smile.

"Uh, yeah we do." The two replied in unison.

"Kay, but don't' say I didn't warn you!" she chirped before skipping forward and humming a song that sounded surprisingly like Barbie Girl.

Robin shook his head of the thought and moved to follow Raven, even though she was acting so strangely. She was their only way out, after all.

"Now where are we?" Cyborg asked after stepping through the archway led them to a brightly lit meadow with flowers and floating strawberries.

"Starfire's dreams?"

"Good one!" Raven had appeared again at Robin's side, laughing uproariously at the joke.

"Ok, what is wrong with you?!" Robin sputtered.

"What do you mean?" she tilted her head.

"You're wearing a color you've told me on numerous occasions sickens you and on top of that you're laughing?"

"Why can't I laugh at your joke?"

"You never laugh at anything!" Cyborg put in. "You hate Beast Boy's jokes."

"BB tries too hard to be funny 'cause he overcompensates."

"Overcompensates?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, BB has to be funny because he isn't so high on the hottie meter."

"Ok…. The hottie meter?" Robin couldn't believe the words were coming out of either of their mouths.

"Yep! The hottie meter of the Teen Titans! BB is at the bottom, Cyborg's in the middle, and you are at the very very very very top!" she announced joyfully and clapped for his achievement.

"Aw, Raven put you at the top of her hottie meter. She must really like your overly gelled spiky hair and diminutive size." Cyborg patted his head condescendingly and Robin flushed in embarrassment and offense.

"Raven doesn't like me."

"You sure about that?"

"I can just ask her. Raven-hey." He looked around. "Where did she go?"

"To the Forbidden Door? She must want us to follow her."

"She could have said something."

"What's the matter? Upset that she left you behind?" Cyborg teased.

"Shut up." He mumbled and moved forward.

* * *

"Friend Raven, is that you?" Starfire's voice was cautious as if she were addressing a skittish animal.

Raven sighed and sat up.

"Yes, Star."

"If you are hungry, I can bring you tea and bread that is of the toasted variety."

Raven opened her mouth to answer when a fit of giggles came out instead, sending Starfire reeling backwards in shock.

"I need to be alone." Raven said, moving past the alien girl.

"Earth is an odd place." Starfire concluded.

* * *

"I know where we are! We're in that place where we didn't know where we were before." Cyborg said unhelpfully when they crossed into the gloomy area that mirrored the one they'd first arrived in.

Robin was fuming.

"The next time I see Raven, I swear I am going to-

The girl in question appeared, now donning a gray cloak with the hood down.

"Where were you?! Shopping for robes!" Robin exploded and Raven's eyes glistened with tears at his raised voice.

"Raven, he didn't mean it. He was just angry you left us back there." Cyborg spoke softly, touching her shoulder as she wiped the tears away.

Robin felt like an asshole, but didn't interrupt the moment because Cyborg had calmed her down and she was offering a semi-smile that was a hundred times sadder than the one she'd been sporting before.

"That's the Forbidden Door, right?" Cyborg pointed it out in the distance and the grey girl gave a muted nod. "Let's go then, ya'll! Bacon's calling my name!"

He had taken five steps when a stone wall pushed out of the ground and then a whole maze was constructed, trapping the three Titans at the center of it. Robin threw a birdarang at the sky and as he'd expected it came back destroyed from the invisible electric field.

"Great." He huffed.

"We gotta get out of here. My claustrophobia will start acting up!" Cyborg began shooting the walls but they rebuilt immediately after they fell.

"It's a maze. You can't get out, you have to go through." Raven finally spoke up, her voice subdued and meek.

"Let's do that then!" Cyborg looked relieved at the prospect. "Can you lead us through?"

"Yes, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore. He already doesn't like me." she looked at Robin and tears spilled once more.

"Wait, that's not true. Raven I-

But she had already walked away. Cyborg gave him a sympathetic look before following the swish of Raven's grey cloak.

"I've heard women are complicated, but this is ridiculous." Robin grumbled.

A few minutes later, this point was proven as Raven incessantly apologized for things the guys didn't even remember.

"And that time I told you that your car was ugly and you were an idiot for wasting so much time on it? I'm so sorry for that too."

"For the last time, girl, I forgive you!" Cyborg exhaled, but she wasn't finished.

"And remember when I told you a monkey would be a better leader and you should go lead cattle instead of superheroes? I could not be sorrier for insulting you like that." Raven said.

"You have to stop apologizing, Raven. You don't owe me anything. I should be the one apologizing to you."

"No, Robin. I lost control of things and I messed the team up. I'm so sorry."

Impulsively, he pulled her into a hug and he was surprised when he felt her arms go around his waist and her head tuck under his chin. It felt unusually warm and comfortable, like they were meant to be in this position. Behind Raven, the final wall went underground and they were left with a path to the Forbidden Door, seeming much closer than before. Cyborg had gone forward to investigate and give the birds a moment alone, but he jumped back when a hulking stone reaper blocked his path with four red eyes gleaming malevolently down at him.

"I told you." Raven's voice was muffled in Robin's chest. "You won't like me anymore."

Robin was going to vehemently disagree but her body disappeared and he was left holding nothing, feeling cold hit his chest.

"Robin, we have a problem." Cyborg's eyes were on the stone figure that was grinning as two enormous swords appeared in its hands.

The statue rushed forward and though the Titans shot all manner of explosives and sonic shots at it, it did not stop and swung viciously at them with the swords. Cyborg was able to shoot one of the swords out of its hands, but the statue used the free hand to grip Robin tightly and lift him to the sky. Robin struggled but could not free himself from the stone grip. The hand was getting tighter and tighter until he was losing his breath. Salvation came in the form of a purple caped Raven.

"Hey, eight-eyes! Put my sweetheart down!"

She swooped in from the sky, kicking the statue in the face so that it dropped Robin and fell back.

"Sweetheart?" Robin repeated, blinking dumbly.

Raven was fighting the statue vigorously and delivered a back kick to its face before facing forward and floating down with two fingers slicing the statue in half.

"No one ever hurts the people I love." She growled, dusting her hands off and moving back to the boys, who for the hundredth time that day were stunned beyond words.

Raven's purple hood was down and her face was open and warm. Amethyst eyes glittered magnificently and her lips were quirked in a caring smile. She jumped into Cyborg's arms, wrapping her own around his neck so she wouldn't fall as he adjusted to the contact.

"I love you, big bro." she said and Cyborg, eyes still wide, smiled fondly.

"I love you too, dark girl. Thanks."

She grinned and flew out of his grip, turning to Robin next. She didn't hug him, just stepped in front of him until they were nose to nose and he was looking down at her from the few inches he had on her.

"Aren't you going to tell me you love me?" he finally asked when it was clear she wouldn't speak first.

"That depends. Do you love me?"

"You're one of my closest friends and a valued teammate. Of course I love you."

She made a buzzer sound.

"Wrong answer, Boy Wonder. But, don't worry, you'll get there. I can tell you you're my closest friend and a valued leader so of course I love you." She winked and moved out of his personal space.

"Love is wonderful, isn't it, boys? You know what else I love? Waffles! And the sky! And the clouds! And puppies! And Starfire! And even Beast Boy! And bluebirds! And peonies!"

The list seemed endless and neither boy was really listening. Cyborg was still remembering the sweet hug he'd shared with the girl he considered the closest thing to true family in a long time. Robin, meanwhile, was ruminating on Raven's words. She'd looked almost disappointed in him for his answer like she was expecting something else.

"I hate to be the one to say this and ruin the mood, but what's going on with you, Raven? Who are you?" Cyborg asked.

At the question two other Ravens emerged from the ground. The pink-cloaked one and the grey-cloaked one joined the purple-cloaked Raven to respond all at once.

"I'm Raven!"

Cyborg rubbed his head in bewilderment, but Robin looked at all three and began pointing them out individually.

"Happy, Timid, Love."

"Wait a minute, those are different sides of Raven's personality."

"We're not in Raven's home, we're in her head." Robin stated, awed.

"And I want you out." the low murmur was in the voice Robin had grown accustomed to.

A monotone that was mysterious but always serene and cool, a voice Robin depended on to calm his nerves and doubts. It was Raven. The _real _Raven.

She looked quite mad as she stood from the half-kneeling position she'd entered in. Her hood was up and the lovely amethyst eyes were narrowed and icy.

"The mirror you found was for mediation. It's a portal into my mind." Her teeth were gritted as she sauntered forward. "_Not_ a toy!" she snarled and Robin flinched.

"My bad?" he ran a hand nervously though his ebony hair.

Before Raven could rebuke them further, a scattering of bird squawks sounded through the air and Raven froze.

"You have to go. Now." She said hurriedly but Cyborg was unaffected by her tone.

"Hold up, dark girl. I've been running around your head all day and I still haven't found the answer I was looking for. What's going on here?"

Raven hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

"Last night, something got loose. Something bad."

"You know what, I'm tired of this secrecy and vagueness. Tell me what's going on, Raven." Robin demanded.

Raven didn't have to specify because her father appeared in a maelstrom of dust and wind.

"Hatred shall rule!" it declared and the guys gulped, tilting their heads all the way back to see the top of the demonic figure.

"Let's just say I have issues with my father."

"Your father? That's your father?" Cyborg barely stopped his voice from shaking.

"You need to get out of here." She insisted.

The red creature shot a yellow blast at them and they all jumped back to evade it. The ground sizzled from the hit. Raven exhaled heavily and chanted her mantra to create a large shield over her and her friends. The evil figure shot again, hitting her shield and bouncing off.

"Get out of my mind! _Now_!" Raven struggled from the attacks on her shield.

"You want us to leave you alone with that thing?" Cyborg asked incredulously.

"Absolutely not." Robin affirmed.

"It's my problem, Robin. It's my fight. If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever."

The demon launched a huge ball of fire at Raven's shield, which flickered and gave out in a cloud of dust. In the interim between attacks, Raven turned to Cyborg and Robin, pushing them back with her power.

"Leave now." She turned back to the demon and flew to engage it.

Cyborg and Robin shared a look and grinned.

"I got the sonic if you got the boom." The android said.

Raven was falling again and the sensation of gliding through the air was broken but the hard grip of her father's fist. She was only semi-conscious and fearing that her end had come even sooner than the prophecy had predicted when she heard his voice.

"If you want to keep your limbs where they are, I suggest you let her go."

Robin and Cyborg stood side by side and she blinked to clear her vision and see them perfectly. She still couldn't believe they'd come back for her. They were suddenly in action, performing the move that weeks before had given them such trouble. This time it was flawless. Trigon growled in pain and dropped Raven as he clutched his face.

"Keep him busy." Robin ordered, grappling to the cliff edge above where he caught Raven as she fell.

"Robin?" she groaned. "You stayed?"

"I'd never leave you, Raven. No matter how hard you push me away."

He helped her to her feet and their eyes locked. Even through his mask, Raven could feel the weight of his eyes. The moment was broken by Cyborg sliding across the floor and stopping in front of them.

"Can you two kiss and make up later? I need some help here."

The birds blushed, but joined Cyborg in the battle. Even with their combined effort, the demon was too strong. Raven told them as much as they huddled behind a rock.

"Can't you call those other Ravens to fight too?" Cyborg inquired.

"It still wouldn't be enough. None of my other sides have the power I need."

"Maybe not alone, but if you put them together they make up you. And you're the strongest person I know, Raven. You can do this." Robin said confidently.

"Go for it. We've got your back." Cyborg gave her a thumbs up and she nodded.

Robin and Cyborg fended him off as Raven levitated and called forth her personalities. There were more than a dozen swirling around her as she chanted her mantra.

* * *

"That one hurt." Cyborg rubbed his jaw.

He had hit the side of a rock from the blast the creature had hit him with. Robin wasn't feeling much better. The blast had made him land hard on his wrist and he suspected it was broken, but he bit back all the pain as a bright light emanated from behind the creature.

Raven stood at the same height as the demon wearing a white cloak that fluttered gracefully around her.

"You are going back where you belong." She said in a cacophonous voice like an omniscient being and trapped her target in her dark aura.

"Never!" it growled, breaking out of her grip.

Raven shot her dark power out using a big burst of energy. Trigon shot out his fiery energy and met her power halfway. After a struggle in which Raven felt her legs shake from the force, her power strengthened and she shot it forward, hitting her father and causing him to shift back into a small Raven with a red cape and four demonic eyes. The red Raven snarled but disappeared in a black wink and entered the white-cloaked Raven.

Raven returned to her normal size and her familiar blue cloak with a weak smile on her face. She gave a small groan and fell back.

"I got you girl." Cyborg's arms caught her fall and she smiled at him.

"Thank you."

"Thank you, dark girl. I learned a lot in your head, you know."

"I shudder to think what."

"It really wasn't so bad." Robin said a strange smile on his face.

"Ready to go home?" Cyborg asked.

"Ready." She replied.

* * *

She bid Starfire a good night and the alien girl waved joyfully.

"The most pleasant dreams, friend!"

Raven left the room and Beast Boy turned to Starfire.

"Who was that person?"

"Friend Beast Boy, do you not recognize our friend and teammate?" Starfire, who knew nothing about sarcasm, asked.

"Never mind. I just meant Raven's acting nicer than usual. She didn't scream at me when I bumped into her or when I spilled my juice on the floor and got a little on her boots. And when you hugged her she didn't flinch away or glare, she just took it without saying anything! And then she was all like 'Good night' which was crazy, right?!"

"Perhaps you should be the one seeking help, friend." Starfire said slowly.

* * *

Robin hissed in pain as he wrapped the gauze around his right wrist using his left hand. The process wasn't going great. He had to wrap it tightly to add the brace so it could set correctly but so far it was impossible. Cyborg had gone to bed when they'd returned to recharge from all the energy he'd used in Raven's mind and Robin hadn't wanted to bother him. Beast Boy would make a bigger mess than Robin, Starfire was too strong to handle a delicate process without breaking both his arms, and Raven… was resting and he wanted her focused on herself and not his injury.

He cursed as his hand moved roughly against the broken wrist. He'd have to wait until morning to ask for Cyborg's help.

"What do you think you're doing?" the voice was tired but it was definitely Raven's.

"Shit." He muttered.

"Shit indeed. Your wrist is broken, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"When we came back you were holding it funny and I deduced you'd gotten hurt in the battle. I also deduced you'd keep it to yourself and foolishly suffer because your pride forced you to. I was right on both counts."

She knew him well.

"I just need to wrap it tightly so I can add the brace." He was explaining but Raven approached him and with one hand poised, unwrapped all his hard work using her powers.

The gauze fell to the floor and Robin's wrist was fully displayed, swollen and painful as it looked. Robin winced but Raven's expression remained blank.

"Sit." She ordered.

He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off.

"I'm kind enough to ask you because I could manipulate your movements if I wanted to. So, _sit_."

He did. She stepped in front of him and with a gentleness no one had ever used with him, touched his wrist with her right hand, which was glowing a light blue color. He watched as her hand made contact with his exposed skin but instead of pain he felt a pleasant coolness that washed over every part of his body. He closed his eyes and relaxed, his wrist now in Raven's other hand.

"All done." She said a few minutes later and his eyes opened under his mask.

His brow furrowed.

"Really?"

"Are you doubting my abilities, Robin?" she glared and he laughed.

"I wouldn't dare." He flexed his wrist and found it perfectly healed. "Thanks, Rae."

"Don't mention it." She turned to leave but he hopped off the med lab bed and stepped in her path.

"What? I'm exhausted, Robin. And you should know why."

"I know. This won't take long. I want you to know that I trust you. I trust that you can control your powers and you can protect yourself and your teammates."

"How can you say that with what I did to Dr. Light?"

"Because I know you. I've been inside your mind, Raven and I know you better than I did before. You have happiness and love inside you and you're a good person. You can overcome your demons, like you did earlier."

"Only if you're there to help me."

He gave her his signature grin.

"Then don't worry too much. I'll always be there for you, Rae."

She gave a brief smile.

"Can I go to sleep now or are there more clichés we have to exchange?"

"Good night, Rae." He stepped aside and she bid him the same before leaving the med lab.

That night Raven's dreams were controlled by one specific emoticlone. Love laughed from some part of her mind, but Raven didn't care. She dreamt of masked heroes and moonlight strolls on the beach and for once felt like an average teenage girl safe in her room from demons or apocalypses.


	5. Chapter 5

**Switched**

Since losing control of her powers with Dr. Light, Raven had made sure to never put off her meditation and would sometimes forgo sleep to meditate properly. That day she had moved to the living room to float in front of the bay window and feel the sun's rays caress her face. She may have been a night owl (no pun or irony intended) but she loved sunshine and the warmth the Earth sun emitted. Azarath's sun had not been as pleasant and glowed a sickly orange color. Besides, Raven had never felt warm on Azarath but cold and alone.

The monks and her mentor, Azar, had taught her detachment and numbness and suppression, all techniques to control the full brunt of her emotions. She could never blame them for not allowing her a childhood. When one was destined to release evil incarnate and destroy the world, one couldn't be picky about having dolls and jump ropes to play with.

"Raven! Good morning and hello! Would you care to join me in the consumption of the fried pork strips that drip with heaps of oil and sodium?"

Starfire made bacon sound less appetizing than usual, which was a feat in itself, because Raven hated pork and beef, choosing to indulge only in lighter meats like chicken, turkey, and occasionally fish.

"No." Raven droned, but Starfire did not get the message.

"Should we go to the mall of shopping and spend some female time together?"

"No. I'm meditating." Raven's eyes remained closed and her tone monotonic.

"Oh, perhaps I can join you?" the alien girl flew to a sitting position but seconds into it began fidgeting and humming notes off key.

"Starfire." Her teeth were clenched

"Am I distracting you, friend?" Starfire giggled nervously but flew away, hopefully to a place with soundproof walls.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She chanted soothingly.

"Have you seen friend Robin?" the cheery voice had returned with an increase in volume.

"No." Raven practically growled.

"Oh, perhaps you have seen friend Beast Boy?"

"Starfire, my eyes are closed. I can't see _anyone._" She hissed and the Tamaranean moved off to one side.

Raven had resumed her chant and was minutes away from finishing her meditation when the main doors opened and Cyborg bellowed

"Mail call!"

"Ah!" she dropped unattractively to the floor with a thump.

"Robin! Cyborg! Beast Boy! You have returned! It had been most… quiet in your absence." Starfire said slowly, giving Raven a glance she promptly ignored as she picked herself up.

Raven was mumbling things to herself as she dusted off her cloak and didn't pay attention to the mysterious package addressed to the Titans and the big opening of said package until Starfire's squeal of joy forced her to look up.

"Tiny replicas of all of us!" she announced and Raven moved forward to find puppet versions of the five Titans.

"They're very detailed." Beast Boy said, playing a ninja attack game with Cyborg's puppet.

Starfire was gushing about who knew what with her puppet and Raven picked up the puppet and pushed the miniature hood off to analyze the exposed face.

"So detailed we may have a stalker." She muttered and Robin, who had moved closest to her, laughed.

"Way to take the negative side of things."

"That's me. Little Miss Depressing." The words hit home more than she'd meant them to and Robin stared at her thoughtfully.

"Is that what you really think?"

"That's the truth."

He sighed.

"Raven-

"Friend, would your puppet like to take on my puppet in pretend battle?" Starfire's dazzling emerald eyes were more animated than usual.

"Knock yourself out." Raven drawled, throwing her puppet into Starfire's other hand.

The taller girl sighed as Raven left the room.

"Star, Raven didn't mean it." Robin tried to assuage her.

"No, Robin, she did mean it. Raven means everything she says and does. I-I understand. We are… too different, correct? She helped me find myself when my sister was here with malicious intentions and for that I thank her. Perhaps we are not meant to be more than teammates…"

Starfire took the puppets into her room with her, preparation to act out a scenario in which Raven did want to spend time with her.

* * *

Robin had worked out for two hours (an hour less than usual) and was planning to talk to Raven about putting more effort into a friendship with Starfire, but he'd felt exhausted and collapsed on his bed right after his shower.

He was dreaming of a deserted island with soft expanses of sand and water the color of freshly cut diamonds. He heard a murmur behind him, a voice more familiar to him than his own, and was turning to smile at the girl who made constant cameos in his dreams, when the scene changed. He was no longer in warm paradise but a bleak emptiness too dark for him to comprehend. From somewhere up above heard a sinister voice.

"Rise, my puppet. Rise!"

* * *

"Who is there? Answer, please." Starfire said sweetly but nervously searching for the source of the noise she'd heard outside her room.

She had not fallen into slumber yet as she was cleaning her room and keeping it as tidy as she was used to. Even as a child Starfire prided herself on being neat and organized. Blackfire was her antithesis in this way as well. The older girl threw everything to the floor and left it there, abusing of the maids and servants at the royal palace. Starfire tried to tell her this was disrespectful but her sister had scoffed.

"I'm royalty and everyone else better know it."

Starfire wasn't sure how she'd survived her childhood now that she thought about it.

She called out again, her feet taking her down the darkened hallways with trepidation. A door swished open and Starfire lifted a starbolt in one hand to see Raven's irritated face.

"Friend Raven! Did you hear the sound as well?"

"The sound of you yelling outside my door when I was trying to sleep? Yeah, I heard it."

"Oh. Apologies." Starfire flushed. "I thought I heard-

A sonic cannon blast caused the girls to jump back and turn in confusion to see their three male teammates running towards them, faces fierce the way they were in battle.

"What?" Raven noticed the electric blue hue of their eyes but was forced to levitate to dodge Robin's rough kick to her chest.

Starfire looked at Raven in horror as she flew to one side and narrowly avoided a hit with Beast Boy and Cyborg.

"Robin, what are you doing?" Raven asked but he ignored her and jumped up to grab her cape and pull her to the floor with him.

"Friends, why do you seek to hurt us?" Starfire pleaded.

"Because they're not your friends." An eerie voice approached them and in their momentary distraction, Starfire and Raven were captured in Cyborg's strong arms.

"Who are you?" Raven snarled and they stared down at a puppet with a crown and a nutcracker uniform.

"I am the Puppet King and you Titans are my marionettes." He held up the three puppets that had been built to look like their friends.

"Raven." The Robin puppet said.

"Starfire." The Cyborg one said.

"Help us!" Beast Boy's puppet finished.

"Let them go, you glorbag!" Starfire's eyes flashed enraged green.

"Oh no, my beauties, you will be joining them." He held up a controller with five colored buttons and Robin's body stepped forward with the Raven and Starfire puppets. "Farewell, Titans." The Puppet King laughed maniacally.

Raven felt magic being to tear her soul from her body and she had just enough time to connect with her own magic and whisper her mantra once, allowing a spark of her dark magic to hit the controller and stop the process. Raven felt a soul slam back into her and noticed Cyborg had dropped them in the chaos. She grabbed Starfire's hand and ran down the hallways until she saw a floor vent and pulled it open, dragging her companion with her.

* * *

"What will we do now, Raven? Our friends are now our enemies!" Starfire squealed, blinking in the dark.

Raven wasn't speaking because she felt an emptiness in her soul. She did not have access to her magic. And that meant…

"Starfire, we have bigger problems." She said turning on the ceiling light.

The bulb promptly blew up courtesy of a certain alien's emotions.

* * *

The girls had managed to sneak out of the Tower without alerting their zombified teammates and were now walking aimlessly along the streets. Raven kept taking deep breaths but her emotional control was not helping Starfire's, who was imagining the worst scenarios and blowing up mailboxes and parked cars.

"What if I'm stuck looking this way forever?" she agonized, clutching the blue hood.

"Starfire, you have to calm down. My powers are driven by emotions. The more you feel, the more energy you unleash." Raven paused. "And what's wrong with the way I look?"

Starfire squeaked a nothing but blew up another mailbox.

"Duck in that alley!" Raven ordered, pushing Starfire into the shadows as Beast Boy in hawk form swooped over.

He spotted them (which wasn't hard when one had fiery red hair and glowingly tan skin) and chased them down the alley. Raven jumped in the air as they ran, flapping her arms to try to will flight to come to her. It didn't work. Thankfully, they seemed to have lost Beast Boy.

"We cannot fight them again. I do not wish to and in our present condition, we would surely be defeated." Starfire said oh so helpfully.

"Ok, how do I fly this thing?" Raven gestured at Starfire's body.

"You must feel flight."

Raven spat out a "What?"

"When you feel the unbridled joy of flight, only then shall your body follows suit."

Raven stared at her like she had two heads.

"Unbridled joy? Not really my thing."

The situation turned graver when a green tiger prowled towards them.

"Fine, next best thing. What do I have to feel to use starbolts?"

"Righteous fury."

"Your alien strength?"

"Boundless confidence."

"Never mind." Raven growled, pulling her teammate down another alley.

This put them in a worse position as Robin jumped down from a building, trapping them between his body and the snarling green tiger. When the two lunged at the girls, they ducked and the boys slammed into each other. Running down the next hallway only brought them closer to Cyborg, who burst through a wall in his attempt to grab them. Starfire screamed and launched Raven into the air with the emotional outburst.

"Come on!" Raven ordered but they didn't get far.

The three boys had found them again. Raven huffed and turned to Starfire, peering down at the girl for once.

"If I can't fly, you have to levitate. You know those words I always-

"Yes!" Starfire grinned but before Raven could warn her about the power of the mantra, Starfire was shouting them.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Both girls screamed as they were suddenly whooshing through the skies. They'd made it far enough from the boys for safety.

"I wish to stop now please." Starfire said nervously.

"Look at the ground and imagine-

Starfire, impulsive to the very core, looked down without further instruction and they were soon plummeting to the ground, landing softly but disgustingly on bags of garbage. Raven pulled the girl behind the garbage as their possessed teammates gathered in front of their hiding place.

"Enough! We will catch the other two after the ceremony is complete." The Puppet King said.

_What ceremony?_ Raven thought and had to smile when Robin voiced the question. Even in puppet form, he was the sharp-minded leader they all depended on.

The ceremony turned out to be a ritual to rob the boys of their bodies forever and basically burn their souls. Raven's now green eyes narrowed and she felt a pulse of green energy in her hands but no starbolt formed. She waited until the Puppet King had left to turn to Starfire, who was giving off dark magic from her emotional stress. Starfire spoke before she could.

"Quickly Raven, we must follow that villain and-

"And what? Save them with my unusable powers while your unbridled emotions blow us to bits. Nice flying by the way." Raven snarked.

She knew she shouldn't be goading Starfire, who was only trying to help and who was struggling just as much as she was with powers she was unfamiliar with, but Raven was pissed. She couldn't feel to activate Starfire's powers but she didn't exactly have emotional control. Her emotions were almost in limbo, useless and unattainable.

"At least I am able to fly. On my planet, even a newborn could achieve the joy of flight, but you are too busy being grumpy and mean to feel anything at all!" She shot back but Raven had had enough.

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but my emotions are dangerous. I can't afford to feel anything."

Unwittingly, this brought thoughts of Robin to mind. She shook the images of her leader away.

"You may have my body, but you know nothing about me." She turned away.

Starfire sighed.

"In that aspect, you are right, friend. I do not know you but it is not for lack of trying. I do wish to know you and share activities with you. I want to truly be your friend, Raven."

Raven turned back, wearing a weak smile.

"I know you do and I'm sorry I've made it so difficult for you. It's just who I am… is not an easy person to be."

"Tell me more, friend. If we wish to save the boys, we must understand each other and so we will understand our powers."

"Okay." Raven took a deep breath. "Would you mind going first?"

The alien girl shook her head.

"I have already mentioned my home planet of Tamaran, but there is something I did not share. I am a princess on my world."

Raven's eyes widened.

"Wow."

"Yes. My family has been in power for many of the Earth centuries and are expected to continue this rule."

"So your parents are the King and Queen?" Raven asked.

Starfire nodded.

"I do not remember much of them. My parents had obvious preferences for Blackfire and I was raised by my most adored ganorfka."

Raven didn't ask what that meant.

"Why did you leave Tamaran?"

Starfire's face darkened and though the look was commonplace on Raven's features, it still seemed strange that Starfire was the one feeling that way.

"I did not leave voluntarily. My parents sent me away. They only needed one daughter to take the throne after them. And I was not that daughter."

"I'm sorry." Raven said.

"When I landed on Earth, I was being chased by a race of aliens I was forced to turn to when I left Tamaran, but that is a tale I do not wish to recall, friend."

"Tell me a little about your powers, then. Emotions seems to drive them the same way they do mine."

"Yes. On Tamaran, feeling is the greatest weapon and every emotion a most valued tool. I was always joyous, despite my parents' indifference and my sister's less than desirable ways. My powers made me happy and the only way to maintain them was… happiness."

Raven finally understood why the alien was always so cheerful and optimistic. She was taught to ignore the bad so her powers could function and in a way her upbringing had been similar to Raven's. Though Raven had to suppress all emotions, Starfire had suppressed genuine emotions to stay happy at all times.

"I guess it's my turn." Raven cleared her throat and thought carefully before sharing her story.

There were some secrets that could not be revealed and some facts that had to be skewed.

"I come from a dimension on another plane from Earth's called Azarath."

"I have heard of that world before!" Starfire seemed excited with the knowledge.

"And what exactly have you heard?"

"Only that it is a place for monks and priestesses."

Raven almost sighed in relief.

"That is true. I was raised by monks and a priestess known as Azar, who trained me to control my powers by controlling my emotions. It consisted of ignoring even the most violent of emotions so that my powers wouldn't blow up a building or something."

"And your parents?"

Raven bit her lip.

"My father left me before I was born and my mother… is dead."

"Oh, Raven, I am so sorry!" she pulled the girl into a tight hug and for once Raven didn't try to pull away.

She didn't have to worry about her emotions going haywire at the moment and she was more comfortable around Starfire after learning the alien princess had not had the most perfect of upbringings.

"Thank you. I think this has helped, Starfire. I think we're ready to take on the Puppet King."

Starfire gave a serious nod.

"We are ready."

* * *

It had been surprisingly easy to fly once Raven focused her thoughts on what put her most at ease-correction, _who _put her most at ease. Following Starfire's guidance, she took a deep breath and remembered the night Robin told her to wish on a make believe shooting star or the night she'd healed his wrist and taken away his pain. Robin's smile was the fuel she needed to fly, but she couldn't tell Starfire that.

There was one barrier between the girls, one Starfire was not aware of but Raven could not ignore, and that was Robin. It was no secret that Starfire felt for him, perhaps deeply, and Raven had, as of late, felt her feelings shift to accommodate some affection and admiration when it came to her leader. After Cyborg and Robin had left her mind, she had contacted her emotions and seen for herself how much Love had developed. This did not mean she was in love with Robin, but it meant her feelings for him were solidifying and could soon lead to just that.

"What did you think of, friend Raven?" Starfire asked smiling and Raven wanted to preserve that naïve smile for as long as she could.

"All of us, safe and sound, having breakfast at the tower. Everyone was laughing and smiling. It was very… quaint."

"How wonderful! We shall do just that once we save the boys." Starfire clapped.

"Ok, it's your turn now. Focus all your energy into one spot. That lock."

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Starfire breathed and the lock broke away.

Raven smiled at her, proud they'd overcome their clashing personalities to find their middle ground, and Starfire's burst of enthusiasm broke the wooden doors of the roof entrance in a loud snap. Raven shot her a look and Starfire flushed at the mistake.

"Let's go. Stay quiet. We can't let the Puppet King know we're there until the last moment. We're the ones with the element of surprise." Raven said.

The element of surprise was promptly ignored when the Puppet King dropped the puppets of their friends into some blue flame and Starfire caught them in a black bubble, pulling them to hug tightly to her chest from where the girls were standing in the upper walkways.

"Friends, we have saved you!" she gushed and if puppets could frown in confusion, the three male Titans did.

"Starfire?" Robin asked.

"It's a long story." Raven offered and cursed when another sonic blast was aimed at her head. "Run!" she pulled Starfire, still clutching the puppets, with her.

They didn't get far before Robin landed in front of them with a powerful kick that knocked them down. The girls screamed and so did the puppets, which had landed in a tangled heap on the floor of the warehouse.

"Split up!" Raven said, moving backwards to face off with Robin as Starfire took to the air and flew away, where a green eagle and Cyborg swinging from ropes, followed her.

"Robin, I don't want to hurt you." Raven said softly, wondering if a small part of him remained in the body.

She figured not when he swung at her head. She moved to one side and grabbed his fist.

"But I guess I have to." She pushed him backwards and was pleased she had used her alien strength.

She had enough confidence in herself and in Starfire. They could save the boys and take down this Puppet King together. Robin came at her again, but she was ready and used a low kick to knock him off his feet. She was smiling at her victory when she heard Starfire's tinkling voice strained with her anxiety.

"Raven! Help!"

Raven turned to see Starfire was being closed in with Cyborg on one side and Beast Boy in velociraptor form on the other.

"Starfire!" she called, flying down at what she supposed was the speed of light, to grab Cyborg and hold him in a tight grip over empty space.

"Not me! Them!"

Raven gasped as she saw the Puppet King running to the fire with the three puppets. She turned and saw Starfire grappling with Robin. Beast Boy had morphed into a hawk and was going towards her.

"Now you will be mine forever!" the Puppet King cackled.

Raven felt power course through her as her anger took over. She threw Cyborg at Beast Boy and summoned fury to her hands, creating a large starbolt.

"No!"

The bolt hit the Puppet King, who dropped the puppets on the ground, but pushed his controller into the fire where it instantly burned.

"My control!" the villain cried.

The souls of the male Titans flew out of the burning embers and back into their respective bodies. Raven felt her aura calling for her and let her soul lift from Starfire's body back to hers. The alien girl cheered, glad to be back to normal, and swooped down to where Cyborg and Beast Boy were rubbing their heads from the crash they'd had before.

"Ouch." Raven groaned, feeling a weight on her body.

She looked up and her eyes widened as they met Robin's furrowed mask. Before the soul release, he had jumped at Starfire to take her down and was now lying haphazardly on Raven's body.

"You did it." He said, his breath blowing over her face.

"I'm starting to feel offended. You seem surprised to see I can achieve anything."

"I didn't mean to give you that impression." He smiled. "I'm proud of you. And Star." He added quickly.

She nodded and waited for him to move. He didn't.

"Uh, Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not sure what happened to the Puppet King and you're what's in my way."

"Oh, right." He stood nonchalantly and offered her a hand up.

She took it and leaned over the railing to see the Puppet King's essence leaving the wooden form and dissipating.

"Good riddance." She growled.

"You didn't enjoy being Starfire?" he chuckled.

"No! How can she handle that long hair? And that short skirt with the halter top thing. I felt so exposed."

"As opposed to your conservative leotard that doesn't show off every inch of your legs?"

"Stop looking at my legs." She glared and he grinned.

"Stop tempting me with them."

She glowered at him and didn't dignify the comment with a response. She levitated to go down and join the others, but a gloved hand touched her wrist.

"What?"

He seemed unaffected by her death glare.

"Can I have a lift?"

"Fine." She said, still glaring, and took his hands in hers to reunite the team below.

* * *

Raven was once again meditating in the living room, breathing in and out deeply.

"Peace. Quiet. Tranquility." She whispered.

"Raven?" the voice was timid but as clear as wind chimes.

"What is it, Star?" she opened one eye.

"May I join you in meditation?"

"Mm-hmm." Raven said, closing her eyes again and feeling the air move as Starfire got into the identical position.

They shared a comfortable silence before Raven opened her eyes.

"I think I've meditated enough for today. Would you like to go to the mall?"

Starfire's green eyes twinkled in excitement and she flew up to the ceiling.

"Oh yes, very much so!"

"I'll meet you back here in ten minutes to go."

"I shall bring the dollars of currency to purchase some new clothing options!" she glided to her room and Raven watched her go with a gentle smile.

The alien girl had grown on her and they were friends with more in common than she'd expected.

"I'm glad you two are getting along."

She rolled her eyes and dropped to a standing position to face her leader, who had taken to eavesdropping on his female teammates.

"I don't appreciate your stalking." She crossed her arms.

He chuckled.

"I am not stalking you, Raven. We live in the same tower. We're bound to run into each other eventually."

"Eventually, but it can be avoided as much as possible." She moved to wait for Starfire outside but he touched her shoulder and she turned back to him.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life and for saving the team."

She ducked her head.

"It wasn't only me."

"I know, but Starfire followed you and she counted on you to get her through it. You worked together but I'm sure it was your level thinking that did it."

"Fine, though I still believe I can't accept all the gratitude, you're welcome."

He removed his hand but kept staring at her. She fidgeted but didn't give him the pleasure of running away or dropping his gaze.

"What was it like being a puppet?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"It was a strange feeling. I was watching the world around me but I was frozen. I couldn't breathe or move my body. I had no control."

"You must have hated that."

He nodded solemnly.

"I did. The Puppet King got what he deserved."

"Friend Raven! I am ready to go to the mall of shopping! Oh hello, friend Robin!" the alien entered the room and broke the intensity of their moment.

"Hello, Star. I guess you're leaving now." He addressed Raven.

"We'll be back by dinner time." She assured him and levitated to join Starfire.

"May we indulge in the sweet mustard beverage while we are there?"

Robin heard Starfire's question as the girls left the room.

"Star, mustard isn't a beverage and they don't sell it by the pound at the food court." Raven patiently explained.

"This is most upsetting."

"How about we get ice cream instead?"

"That is most satisfactory! Is there a mustard flavored ice cream?"

Robin laughed as they exited his hearing range, wondering how Raven's day with the mustard-obsessed girl would go.


	6. Chapter 6

**Deep Six**

Occasionally the Teen Titans received distress calls outside of Jump City's parameter, but this one had been different as they were called to investigate the wreckage of a capitulated ship thousands of feet below sea level. The report had been of a green monster named Trident with a weapon that bore his namesake and some sort of army that could sink the ship before anyone on board could react. This had occurred on several shops carrying nuclear wreckage which meant Trident was gathering supplied for some nefarious purpose.

Cyborg had been ecstatic to unveil his T-ship, compatible with aeronautic and naval scenarios. The Titans had woken up at the crack of dawn to pile into the jet, which flew to a specific coordinate and then converted into an underwater ship, plunging through the rushing waves with ease.

They had been traveling for less than an hour when Beast Boy, restless as usual, began shouting in weird voices and telling jokes that were as funny as they were original. Starfire seemed to be the only one actually listening but the others had no choice as they were all connected through head pieces with a built in microphone.

Eventually Cyborg was annoyed enough to switch off Beast Boy's microphone.

"Goodness me, I seem to have accidentally turned off BB's mike."

"Could you go ahead and accidentally leave it off?" Raven said and the other Titans, sans Beast Boy, laughed.

Their destination would be coming up soon and Raven knew she should be alert for all signs of danger, but her attention was caught by a mass of underwater plants, ranging from corals to anemone. It was a dazzling display of fauna and flora with a mélange of colors, some of which could not be found anywhere else but at the depths of the ocean floor.

"Wow." She breathed, forgetting her microphone.

"It is beautiful." Robin agreed and Raven's eyes unconsciously closed at his deep timber.

Robin's voice was as enigmatic as his identity shielded by the signature domino mask. It was a pleasant murmur that reminded Raven of the ebb and flow of the sea's tides.

"We should all go scuba-diving sometime." Cyborg suggested.

Beast Boy, whose microphone was still turned on, frowned.

"Uh, won't you go all electric shocky and die?"

"Goodbye, Beast Boy." Cyborg said and again turned off the changeling's microphone.

"I was not aware your systems could function under such low barometric pressures and water levels." Starfire said as curious as Beast Boy was, but clearly more diplomatic about it.

"I'd have to construct a special suit, but it's possible."

Raven felt a flicker of melancholia from her surrogate older brother and assumed it had to do with the loss of his once human body. It must have been a difficult shift from human to robotic human.

"There's the ship." Robin said, turning everyone back to the task. "Beast Boy."

"Get ready to feel jealous." Beast Boy unbuckled his seatbelt with affected arrogance and morphed into a whale outside the ship.

"He just put on 300,000 pounds. I am _so _jealous." Raven deadpanned and Starfire giggled while the boys smiled at the sarcasm.

* * *

Beast Boy had gone from whale to dolphin to shark as he searched the ship's deepest recesses. He was contemplating morphing into a piranha just for the hell of it when he saw a dark shape in his peripheral vision. Trident.

He swam after it, jaws agape, reaching the shape and preparing to clamp onto it. That was when he heard the shouts of his teammates and when he spun to check on them it was to see the T-ship rapidly sinking and his team running out of air. He swam towards them but was pulled back by Trident. But, that was impossible because Trident had just attacked the team! What was going on?!

* * *

Starfire was not fond of water. On Tamaran, water was used only in its necessary ways. It was imbibed, used for cooking and cleaning, and utilized in the showers and baths. It was never used for vacationing or casual swimming. Tamaranean warriors were not swimmers and could barely paddle in chest-high water. They were meant for aerial attacks and land confrontations. For this reason, Starfire felt wildly out of her element and though she could hold her breath for a solid three minutes, this would not save her from drowning with the T-ship.

Just when she thought hope was lost and she'd never get to celebrate her 17th birthday, a tall figure appeared outside the busted screen of her side of the ship and smiled at her.

Her green eyes widened but before she could further examine the stranger, the T-ship was picked up on two humongous whales' backs and was zipping deeper underwater until it passed a secret entrance to a vast cavern. The ship was pushed to the surface and the Titans were free to breathe fresh oxygen again.

Starfire flew out of her seat, touching down on the stable ground, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. Behind her, Robin was helping Raven out and Cyborg was kneeling next to the ruined ship cursing the heavens and Trident, but Starfire was deaf to all of that because the mysterious figure had appeared on the backs of the same whales that had saved the Titans' lives.

She felt her mouth open of its own accord as all six feet of the attractive male landed lithely in front of her, his smile displaying perfectly white teeth. He had onyx shaded eyes that shone with the ocean as their background. His skin was fair and smooth and he wore a cobalt body suit that accentuated his broad chest and lean muscles.

"My name is Aqualad. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

Starfire had to take several moments to compose herself before she could answer.

"St-Star-Starfire." She blushed and he shook her hand.

"Starfire. That's lovely. And so are you."

She pulled her hand away, flushing deeply, but the two were interrupted by an indignant Beast Boy, who until then had been forgotten.

"Who is this guy?!"

"I am Aqualad, Prince of the Seas." He replied, turning to all the Titans.

"Prince? You must be from Atlantis." Raven said, marveling at the Atlantian prince.

Robin, who misinterpreted her cultural interest for romantic interest, looked at Aqualad with narrowed eyes.

"I thought Atlantis was destroyed." He said rather rudely.

"Robin." Raven hissed, but Aqualad laughed.

"It's fine. I'm used to these sorts of attitudes. Atlantis has been rebuilt and thrives once more. Its location has changed and is known only to the pure bloodlines of the city."

Robin humphed and Raven rolled her eyes, picking up on the animosity in his aura, but not understanding why. She guessed it was up to her to be professional since Beast Boy was acting childish (not a surprise) though Robin's mirrored behavior was unusual. Cyborg was still agonizing over his precious ship and Starfire? Starfire's eyes were almost heart-shaped in the undivided attention she was dedicating to the Atlantian prince.

"We're the Teen Titans. Thank you for bringing us here safely."

"I know who you are. Living underwater doesn't make me a closeted hermit unaware of current events." He winked and Raven smiled, making Robin's glare more pronounced. "As for helping you, it was no trouble at all. Tramm and I get a bit lonely down here. It's nice to have some company, even under these circumstances."

Raven was going to ask who Tramm was but was saved from the question by Cyborg's heated argument with what looked like a walking fish holding power tools up to the T-ship. That must have been Aqualad's companion.

"I'm guessing you have personal experience with Trident?" she framed it as a question but from the furious look on his face, it was obvious he both knew and despised the villain.

"Trident," he spat the name "has spilled oil in my oceans, destroying dozens of habitats and unbalancing the underwater ecosystems. He is poisoning my home and he needs to be stopped."

"We can help you with that."

Robin, finally remembering they were on an official mission and he was the leader of the team, cleared his throat and finally spoke.

"Do you know his location?"

"I do." Aqualad replied.

"You and Beast Boy can travel there ahead of us and when the T-ship is fixed, we'll follow and take this guy down. For good."

"Agreed. Tramm will stay and help you fix your ship. I'm a practiced telepath. If we run into trouble, who should I send a message to?"

"It would be easiest to contact me. My mind is more flexible than any other because of my abilities and empathy."

Aqualad nodded, giving her a smile, before looking at the still frozen Starfire and shooting her a cute wink before jumping into the water followed by a grumbling Beast Boy.

"Your mind's flexible, huh?" Robin muttered angrily, not liking the idea of this basic stranger sharing thoughts with Raven.

"What is your problem?" she asked, glaring at him. "Aqualad's been nothing but helpful and you're being a jerk. Just like Beast Boy's being. You're acting like Beast Boy, Robin. Do I have to say more?"

"You don't get it." He glowered at the floor.

"No, I don't. Would you mind explaining it to me?"

Robin opened his mouth but closed it again.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter." He walked over to Cyborg and Tramm to assist with the T-ship's repair.

Raven, still baffled by Robin's out of character behavior, approached Starfire, who was staring at the water where Aqualad had disappeared like her life depended on it.

"Star?"

"Oh, friend Raven. I apologize. My mind was how you say, wandering."

"I see that. Does this wandering have anything to do with Aqualad?"

Starfire's orange skin took on a pink tint and Raven almost smiled at the other girl's embarrassment.

"No, I was simply thinking of friend Beast Boy and wishing for his safe return."

"You don't have to lie, Star. I know you like Aqualad."

"Like?"

"You find him attractive?"

"Oh! Well, I-I suppose that… yes. Yes, I do like him." She said it uncertainly and shot Robin a quick glance as if worried he'd heard her.

"Are you worried your feelings for Robin will conflict with those for Aqualad?"

"I have just met Aqualad. Robin, I have known longer. He is my friend and my leader and he saved me from the aliens who tried to enslave me. I owe Robin many things…"

Raven felt her heart twist in her chest because her thoughts ran along the same wavelength. She owed many things to Robin, both as a leader and as a friend.

"Still, I do not know if we are compatible as more than friends and fellow teammates."

Raven blinked.

"You don't?"

"No. We are almost as different as you and I are, friend Raven. I do not always understand Robin. His anger is explosive and his dominance unquestioned. At times he seems quite volatile and I do not know that I would be right for him."

Raven considered this analysis and silently agreed. She was stunned the words were leaving Starfire's mouth, though. She had thought the girl adored Robin without question, yet she had once again underestimated Starfire. She had learned the alien was not raised with bountiful love and joy and was now learning Starfire knew more than she let on about those around her.

"And Aqualad?"

"I am not familiar with him yet. I do not know his actions or thoughts or general behavior. When I learn more about him, then there could be… something more." She giggled and the airy sound broke the serious conversation they'd been carrying.

"He is cute, Star. It's a good choice."

"Thank you, friend Raven! Perhaps you will find someone to do the liking with too."

Raven simply nodded, not wanting to reveal anything she wasn't sure of.

"The T-ship's ready." Robin had sneaked up on them and both girls jumped. "Sorry."

"It is no problem, friend!" Starfire chirped, floating over to the jet.

"What's got her so happy?"

Raven gave him a look.

"Happier than usual." He amended.

"Aqualad." She responded and his eyebrows raised.

"She likes him?"

"It's possible."

"I thought that you-

"That I what?" she cut him off and then as if a curtain had been lifted, she realized why Robin had been acting so immaturely. "Robin… did you think that I liked Aqualad?"

He looked awkwardly at his feet.

"Well, you were so interested in him and you were willing to open your mind to him."

"I was interested in his city. Atlantis is a myth for some. It's amazing to discover the city still stands. As for allowing access to my mind, it was for the team's benefit. Telepathic contact would be easiest to achieve for me. Have you forgotten that we are in the middle of a mission and time is of the essence?"

Robin flushed.

"I assumed."

"You know what they say about those who assume." She said wryly and he laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry for being presumptuous."

"Apology accepted, though I don't see why it matters to you who I do or do not like."

"I care about who my teammates like because it could put them in danger if they make the wrong choice." He said, forcing himself to believe that instead of dwelling on the pure jealousy he'd felt earlier.

"How noble of you."

Before Robin could think of a comeback, Raven's hands had gone to her temples.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Aqualad and Beast Boy are in trouble."

* * *

The T-ship had arrived at the scene in the nick of time, shooting a powerful missile at the cave where Trident and apparently his army of Trident clones lay. Beast Boy and Aqualad had resolved their issues and were now chatting amiably. Aqualad had accompanied them back to shore and was presented with an honorary Titans communicator.

"You have the makings of a great Titan, Aqualad. Thank you for helping us today." Robin shook his hand.

"Thank you for this, Robin. I'm glad we can be friends now. You know, now that you've realized I'm not after Raven."

"W-what?" Robin squeaked, casting an anxious glance to make sure the others hadn't heard.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. For now." He grinned and said goodbye to the others.

When he got to Starfire, he stepped close to her and kissed her hand tenderly.

"I'll call you sometime now that I have a communicator. It will make things much easier."

"That-that would be wonderful."

"Farewell, beautiful." Aqualad whispered and backed away slowly before performing a backflip into the ocean.

Raven watched her friend who watched the ripples of Aqualad's departure. They would make a fitting couple. The Atlantian prince and the Tamaranean princess. A gorgeous couple too.

A small part of her thanked Aqualad's appearance for a completely different reason. If Starfire's attentions were no longer on Robin, Raven had even less to worry about.

_There's still the problem of fickle emotions and blowing up the world if I'm not careful. Robin is just a friend. A close friend, but only a friend_, Raven told herself.

Raven, like Robin, was a firm believer in compartmentalizing and suppressing emotions, pretending everything was fine when there was more than was being revealed. This propensity was what would overcome Robin's rational side and precipitate his obsessive side.

It was what would soon create Red X.


	7. Chapter 7

**Masks**

It had been two days since the Titans stopped the theft by one of Slade's programmed robots. It had also been two days since the team had seen Robin.

Starfire recounted Robin's anger at Slade's trick and the taunt he'd issued through video feed. She had followed Robin to assist in the defeat of the malevolent robot, but he had brushed her aside and once the robot self-destructed he took his motorcycle home without addressing a single syllable to anyone.

"I must admit, friends, Robin frightened me in that instant of such uninhibited rage." Starfire said timidly.

Raven frowned. The team has been sidestepping their leader's needs for days, choosing to fear him from afar instead of help him through his problems. Starfire's statement was definitive proof that she and Robin were as she had said 'not compatible.' Robin's intensity and passion were key parts of his character and they had to be accepted not ignored.

"I'll be in my room." Raven said, keeping her face blank as ever.

It was only five o clock, so she wasn't going to her room to sleep. In fact, she wasn't going to her room at all. She was thankful none of the Titans had questioned her intentions because lying was tiring and she had to speak to Robin privately.

Raven levitated to Robin's door, exhaling before knocking once. She wondered how she'd be received. The door swished open and her leader's tired face greeted her.

"Robin, you look exhausted."

"You interrupted my research on a demented killer to tell me that? Gee, thanks for wasting my time." He snapped.

"Watch it, Wonder Boy. It was merely an observation. I came to make sure you were okay. We haven't seen you in two days. Have you eaten anything? Or slept at all?"

By the hard edge to his jaw, she guessed the answer was no.

"My work takes precedence over any trivialities."

"Trivialities like the nutrients and rest you need to survive? Right." She said sardonically and he glared.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Raven. We're done here." He shut the door on her face.

* * *

Raven didn't sleep well that night and she hated the fact that it was due to Robin. She had grown accustomed to his innate kindness and warmth towards her. He was the one to seek her out when she had withdrawn to her room or the roof. He saw good in her and believed there was more than a creepy empath with dark magic.

She wasn't used to this disconnected, cold Robin who was starving himself and evading sleep to track down a master criminal. But, it wasn't any master criminal. It was Slade and as the Titans were rapidly learning, he brought out the worst in all of them.

* * *

"Why did I have to carry you? Why couldn't Starfire carry you? You're heavy, dude!" Beast Boy was complaining, dropping Cyborg on their designated rooftop.

"Because I said so." He replied calmly.

"You're not the boss of me!"

"When Robin isn't around, I _am _the boss of you."

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out but the mention of their absent leader made Starfire's eyes sadden.

"Where is Robin, friend Cyborg?"

"He said he was following up a lead on Slade and we should take this one on our own. It's a robbery. Shouldn't be much trouble."

On a regular night, he would have been right. But this was not a common thief. Raven gasped as the moonlight fell on a darkly clad figure. He turned around and a skull mask with a prominent red X on the forehead that mirrored the one on his chest was seen.

"Who is that?" Beast Boy asked, mouth agape.

The figure seemed to grin, shifting the mask minutely. The black cape on his back rustled with the passing wind but he did not move. There was a gleaming blue security chip in his right hand, held casually by his side as if the superhero team in front of him were no threat.

"He's the thief! Titans, go!" Cyborg snapped into action, shooting his laser cannon forward.

The thief performed a high flip, landing on Cyborg's back and pulling out the secret panel that controlled his interior/exterior circuitry. Cyborg was able to let out a cry of outrage before he was manually powered down.

"Who do you think you are?" Beast Boy growled, morphing into a stampeding rhinoceros that shot straight for the villain.

Beast Boy didn't make it far before an X shaped bubble was thrown at him, forcefully stopping his movement and reverting him to human form where the strange red substance had congealed over his face and hair.

"I'm Red X. And I think I'm the one who took down the Teen Titans." The thief said arrogantly, speaking in a tinny voice that was almost metallic in pitch.

Raven narrowed her eyes. The mask must have a voice distorter to conceal the wearer's actual tone. The suit also covered every inch of his body. This guy didn't want anyone to even guess what his identity was. It reminded her of Robin.

"You have done no such thing!" Starfire's eyes illuminated and she flew overhead, shooting starbolts at Red X, who dodged each one with flips that made his thin frame glide through the air.

She was going to use her more potent eye beams when Red X released an X from his palm and chucked it at the alien girl. The X expanded in midair until it was larger than Starfire. She squeaked as the X took her down and trapped her body to the floor, trapping Cyborg's still form and Beast Boy's struggling limbs as well.

And then it was just Raven left.

She was levitating slightly over the ground, watching the thief as he sauntered forward. She could almost picture his smirk. He was planning something for her. She didn't know what but she would find out. She stretched her mind out to touch Red X's and jerked in confusion at the familiarity of the aura. Before she could delve deeper and discover exactly who was under the costume by discerning whose mind it was, Red X had lunged at her and she was forced to fly to one side to avoid the attack.

All thoughts of the thief's identity were forgotten as she began to chant her incantation to take him down.

"Azarath Met-mmph!" she fell to the ground with an abrupt thud, her knees taking most of the impact.

She had been stopped by an X that had covered her mouth before she could finish her words. Raven did not always depend on her chant to use her powers, but she had meditated very early that morning and needed to focus her energies on one thing. The mantra was what helped her do it. Now, cut off from it, she was too distracted to use her powers without releasing excess magic that could hurt her friends.

She tried prying the X off, but the material was a thick rubber that had attached itself to her lips and the edges of her cheeks and chin. She glared daggers at the thief that had knelt in front of her and grabbed her face with his gloved fingers.

"Maybe next time, pretty bird." The metallic voice was so close to her ear she could hear the subtle undertone of the device that altered his real voice.

Red X stepped back, pressed the button on his belt, and disappeared. He had successfully stolen a classified security chip from under the Teen Titans' noses.

Raven, still clutching at the X over her mouth, couldn't help but remember the soft touch of the thief's hand and the intimate whisper he'd used to give her a new nickname.

* * *

Robin had been waiting for them at home, seemingly impatient for their return. Cyborg was the best of the bunch. His system had eventually rebooted and he woke cursing Red X and the ground he walked on. Beast Boy continued to whine about the state of his hair, which looked a dirty scarlet color because of the concentrated red goop in the usually green locks. Starfire, like Cyborg, had come out unscathed. She'd managed to break the X that trapped her and had offered to fix Beast Boy's hair with some snips and combing.

Raven was the only Titan with an actual impairment as the X was still firmly on her face. She'd ridden home with Cyborg in his T-car but the android had been so busy badmouthing the new thief, he hadn't helped her with the mark said thief had left on her. Beast Boy had stolen all of Starfire's attention to his hair, so she hadn't noticed Raven's predicament until just then.

"Oh, friend Raven! You were harmed by that mad man in the ghostly mask!"

"Mm!" Raven said, disgruntled.

She had been muffled by the makeshift gag for more than an hour and her lips were numb and probably chapped by that point.

"I shall assist you in its removal!" Starfire stepped forward but she accidentally waved the scissors she had in one hand too vigorously.

The scissors flew through the air, landing in Beast Boy's hair and getting stuck in the red substance. Beast Boy squealed and Raven's eyes widened. She shook her head and backed away from the advancing Starfire, not noticing she had bumped into a hard chest behind her. She turned and saw Robin's face. It wasn't the boyish mischief that she usually saw but it was a more pleasant expression that what he displayed the night she'd tried to talk to him.

"That's okay, Starfire. I can help Raven with this. Why don't you get started on Beast Boy's hair?" Robin suggested and she nodded.

Beast Boy tried to protest but Starfire hopped on the counter behind him and pulled his head back, tugging the scissors free but also tugging some of the hair from his scalp. Cyborg winced and turned to his leader.

"We needed you today, Rob. Where were you?"

"I told you already. Following a lead."

"Did you learn anything useful?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying."

"Of course not. You'll keep going off to do your own thing and leave us hanging whenever you feel like it. This thief, Red X, isn't our usual criminal. He's smart."

"And wicked fast, dude! He had all these gadgets in the form of X's! It's like he knew how to take us down one by one!"

Starfire tried to alleviate the tension in the room.

"But do not worry, friend Robin, we are unharmed."

Beast Boy gestured wildly at his hair and she gave a nervous chuckle.

"Mostly?"

"Beast Boy's hair is the least of our problems. You are letting your crazy fixation on Slade get in the way of this city's safety and our safety! It's like you don't care about the team anymore!" Cyborg raised his voice and Robin's face darkened at the accusation.

"I care more about this team than anyone else. I built this team!"

"But you're quick to abandon it!"

Robin's fists tightened but he took a deep breath.

"I'm not arguing with you, Cyborg. I know what I'm doing and you're going to have to deal with my decisions. Raven, come with me so I can remove the X." he said as he exited the room.

Raven spared Cyborg a glance and saw the mix of emotions on his face. Anger. Doubt. Disappointment. Resignation. She looked away and exited the same way Robin had.

* * *

Raven had been in Robin's room before but never for more than five minutes and she'd never been on his bed. Yet, here she was sitting awkwardly on the edge of his perfectly made up bed as he soaked a washcloth with warm water in his private bathroom. Her gaze wandered around the room. There were news clippings of Slade's attacks and expected whereabouts. He had all sorts of weaponry and gadget prototypes on his desk, but what really caught her eye was one of Slade's masks, probably retrieved from one of his many clones and drones.

"Does it hurt?"

Raven looked up at Robin and slowly shook her head.

"It must be itching, though. And your lips must be sore. Your fight with Red X was hours ago. Why didn't they remove this earlier?"

Raven rolled her eyes and shrugged. Both of them knew how absent-minded their teammates could be. This was no exception. Robin nodded but his mouth was drawn tight. He was pissed about something. Maybe he was frustrated his leads to Slade didn't pan out. Or maybe he was dissatisfied with the team's performance against Red X.

"This may sting a little, but the warm water should help the material shrink more naturally so I can pull it off quickly."

She nodded once and then Robin's bare fingers had grasped her chin so his other hand could run the moist washcloth over her mouth. The familiar gesture brought a flicker of apprehension to her mind, but then he set the cloth aside and then took the tip of the X and pulled it away in one swift movement and she had to shut her eyes at the stab of pain. When it passed she licked her lips and opened her eyes again. Robin was watching her with silent contemplation.

"What?" she asked and cringed at the dryness in her throat.

"Your lips are all swollen."

"Oh. I can fix that now… Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She whispered and waited until her powers had adjusted to her body again and self-healed the injury.

"What happened?" he asked and she knew he was referring to the battle.

"I was careless. I wasn't concentrating enough and Red X caught me off-guard. But that won't happen again." She flexed her fingers and watched small wisps of black magic permeate the air she touched.

"I'm sorry, Raven."

She met his masked gaze with a furrowed brow.

"For what?"

"For not being there when you needed me. When all of you needed me." He crossed his arms and stared at his wall of Slade.

The guilt radiating from his aura was strong and she had the sneaking suspicion that his guilt had to do with something bigger than he was revealing.

"Robin… what is going on with you? Why are you so removed from us?" her voice was soft and she hoped he wouldn't throw her out of his room or push her away again.

"I-I can't tell you. Not yet."

"Why?"

"Raven." His voice was low and intense as he grabbed her hands in his. "You have to trust me when I say that I'm doing everything I'm doing for the good of this team."

She didn't speak but studied his face for what seemed like hours but was merely seconds and finally she sighed.

"I can't pretend to understand what's going through your mind at the moment. I don't know what's happening and I suppose I'm not meant to know." She pulled her hands away and turned to leave his room.

"Raven." The voice made her pause.

"What?" she looked over her shoulder.

"Do you trust me?"

She stared at the closed door in front of her.

"If you asked me that last week, I would have given you an immediate response."

"And now?"

"And now… I don't know." She admitted and left his room.

Robin slammed a bare fist against the wall that was papered with the face he loathed most of all.

"You're ruining my life." He hissed at the mask on his desk. "I need to end this quickly."

He fished through the depths of his drawer to remove the Red X costume and change into it before initializing a video connection with his enemy.

"What's next?" the metallic voice he'd taken as his own asked and Slade chuckled.

"One chip down, two to go. Are you sure you're fit for the task with the Titans on your tail?"

"I can handle the Titans."

"Very well. I expect the remaining chips by the end of the week."

"You'll get them." Red X declared.

* * *

The following night the Titans, minus Robin, had been sitting around their living room aimlessly. Robin had left his room briefly that morning to announce he was leaving to pursue a lead and he'd be back sometime the next day. No one had the energy to protest. Raven just stared at her book, not reading anything but refusing to look at her leader.

When the alarm went off and the computer reported Red X again, they exchanged brief looks before Cyborg took the lead and rushed to the garage for his T-car, while the others flew to the company building.

* * *

This time Red X seemed more intent on avoiding a confrontation with the Titans because the second he saw them appear on the scene, he ran in the other direction, ducking into the opening for the subway station. The four Titans were hot on his trail, but when they reached the underground station it was empty.

"Damn. Lost him." Cyborg grumbled.

"Think again, tin man. Lights out." Red X said before fiddling with his circuitry and powering him down once more.

Starfire and Raven began shooting energy bursts from their hands, but he dodged the respective green and black blasts easily and then hit Beast Boy with an explosive that blinded his hawk vision and sent him crashing into a wall. Starfire shot a powerful eyebeam at him but he ducked and the beam ricocheted off a fiberglass window behind him, hitting Raven instead.

The sorceress fell back onto the train tracks, landing hard on her back. She groaned as she rubbed her head, which had hit the ground first and was now aching. She'd have to self-heal later.

"Raven!" Starfire shouted as the bright lights of an incoming train zoomed closer.

Raven's eyes shut, knowing her control was next to nothing because of her fear and her powers would be no help to her as the train crushed her fragile battle between steel and iron. A rush of air hit her face and suddenly her body was being lifted off the ground and carried to the other side of the train tracks. Her eyes shot open as she realized she had been saved… by Red X.

He held her upright but didn't release her, his skull mask boring into her, using the train's passing as time to get her alone from the other Titans.

"You-you saved me." She stammered and frowned as his hold on her tightened.

"Couldn't let you die, pretty bird."

She picked up the spike of his emotions and wondered why Red X cared so much about her well-being. She quickly delved into his outer aura until she touched his mind and gasped at what she discovered.

"It can't be." She said and Red X's body tensed.

The train was almost gone and the other Titans were shouting her name, but Raven could only gape at the man in front of her.

"You have to trust me." Red X said and when the train was finally gone, he pushed her back and delivered a rough kick to her midriff so she was thrown back onto the empty train tracks.

And then he was gone. But, so was his secret.

* * *

Robin didn't come home that night. The others hadn't expected him too, but Raven knew it was because he was off masquerading as Red X. She felt stupid for not seeing it before. Red X was familiar because he was Robin's other half, a tangible form of his inner darkness and obsession with taking down Slade.

Red X had known the team's weaknesses, but he hadn't hurt them in any irreparable way. He had saved Raven's life and she had known then, he was no common criminal. But, then what was he?

She understood the point of the act. It was for Slade's benefit, but did Robin think it would work? Slade could see and hear all. Wouldn't he notice the Titans were missing a leader every time they fought one particular villain who had suddenly appeared in Jump City?

Raven thought it best to keep the information from the Titans. Starfire wouldn't have handled the news well. Her recent interest in Aqualad was still in its premature stages and the two would talk via communicator but nothing was official. Besides, Starfire had been interested in Robin since arriving on Earth and her feelings for him had not faded away into fairy dust. The girl still depended on him and her trust in his goodness was mostly intact. Beast Boy was similar. He had initially idolized Robin and joined the team to impress him. Cyborg was Robin's best friend and he would feel so betrayed. As for Raven… she might be the only one who could understand but it didn't make it hurt any less.

She was betrayed and let down. Red X had been a blow to her trust in Robin and though she could forgive him for the impulsive decision, trust did not return on its own. It would have to be earned again.

* * *

The next day, the four Titans trained on the outdoor obstacle course and patrolled the city once before returning home. Cyborg had assumed command because as the eldest, it was a privilege the others allowed him. Raven wasn't interested in leading anyway. It was a trying job from what she'd seen in Robin's experience.

"May we go to the moving pictures theater?" Starfire asked the general room.

"You mean the movie theater?" Beast Boy clarified.

"Yes, the movie theater!"

"There's nothing good playing, but I'd do anything to get out of the tower."

The alarm blared again and Beast Boy groaned.

"Aw man, we never have any fun!"

"We're superheroes, Beast Boy, not party clowns." Raven deadpanned but her remark had no fire behind it.

The signal described the thief as only Red X could be described and that meant another fight with Robin. She didn't know how to act now that she knew it was her leader behind the skull mask.

"Dark girl, everything okay?" Cyborg asked, pausing on his way to the garage for the car.

Her heart twisted as she lied to someone she cared so much about and she realized this was what Robin must have been feeling.

"Everything's fine."

* * *

The silent alarm had been tripped upon his entrance, which gave him four minutes before the Titans would arrive. Robin was tired of the secrecy and charade, but this was the final chip and then he'd have Slade right where he wanted him. He grabbed the black object in his right hand and held it up the light.

"I have to say, I wondered how far you'd take this."

Robin whirled, seeing the man himself leaning on the wall behind him.

"Slade. I have all three chips. I've done what you asked."

"Yes, but I made a deal with a villain named Red X. And you, Robin, are most certainly not a villain." The evil man laughed and Robin growled, dropping the chips behind him, and grabbing Slade by the throat.

Before he could do anything else, the roof was blasted through with one of Starfire's eyebeams. She flew inside, carrying Cyborg who aimed a sonic blast at Red X, throwing him back and releasing Slade, who ran to escape from the back of the museum. Beast Boy knocked Red X's feet out from under him with his triceratops tail.

"Stop!" Red X shouted but the three Titans did not listen.

Raven flew through the roof last and saw the chaos of the room and Slade escaping out the back.

"Stop it! That's-

"It's me!" Robin revealed his face, ripping off the mask before Starfire could knock him out with a starbolt.

The girl dropped her hands and cried out as the other two stared openmouthed. Robin put the mask back on and chased Slade out of the museum. He managed to tackle Slade to the floor but when he ripped off the mask, he met a video screen. The real Slade laughed at Robin's evident frustration.

"Your obsession with me is quite an honor, Robin. You seem to stop at nothing to get to me."

"Where are you?!" he shouted.

"Closer than you think. When the time is right you will come to me. Until then… there is an adage that says: trust is easy to destroy but it takes time to build. Consider this lesson, Robin, when you face your team." The footage cut off and Robin slammed his fist into the robot.

All his hard work had been for nothing. And Slade had won again because Robin didn't know how to explain his mistake to his team. Or to Raven.

* * *

They had yelled at him. Shouted through tears. Cyborg had cursed.

And through it all, Robin stood rigidly at the center of the room, taking in their pain, knowing it was his fault and he deserved to feel as bad as they had. An hour later, Starfire had retired to her room, eyes red and puffy, Beast Boy had turned the T.V. volume high enough to block out sound itself to play a mindless video game. Cyborg retired to the garage and his car. Raven teleported to the roof and inevitably Robin followed her there.

"You didn't scream at me." His voice was hoarse though he hadn't been the one overusing his vocal cords.

"I didn't need to. The others took care of it." She didn't look at him.

"Raven." He sighed. "I need you to understand."

"I understand perfectly, Robin, as I am not an idiot. I know what you expected to happen and why you became Red X. That isn't the problem."

"Then what is?" he sat next to her but she was careful to keep any parts of their bodies from touching.

"You lied to me. Played a game with my emotions and with my trust. You took us down with your little toys and walked away flirting. Your fixation with Slade's capture got out of hand but instead of _trusting _me, you created a character and pushed me-us away." She added the team as an afterthought, but both of them knew it was less a team issue than a Robin/Raven issue.

"I'm sorry. All I can say is that I'm sorry and I was stupid and thoughtless and rash and many other words I'd rather keep to myself. I know that I hurt you and I broke the trust we'd worked so hard to gain and I'm sorry. Believe me when I say that I never meant for it to go this way. I wish I'd made a different choice."

"Me too." She watched the motion of the water below her.

"Will you forgive me?"

"I already have."

He looked surprised.

"Robin." She sighed. "My forgiveness isn't the same as my trust."

"I understand. And, Raven, I will do whatever it takes to gain that trust back."

"This is helping. We're talking again. I haven't seen you for more than ten minutes in a long time."

"Missed me, huh?"

"It's incredible the way you turn a serious moment into an ego trip."

He laughed.

"My ego acts up around you. I can't help it… pretty bird."

She looked at him and glared.

"What was that for? I didn't see you giving Beast Boy a nickname."

"Beast Boy isn't a pretty bird." He said coyly and she groaned.

"Forget I asked."

"If you say so, pretty bird."

Robin's laughter earned him a punch to the shoulder, but he didn't care. He'd missed Raven and their quiet talks on the roof or in the living room. The others would come around, but Raven's forgiveness had lifted a great weight off his shoulders.


	8. Chapter 8

**Mad Mod  
**Robin groaned, feeling a migraine overtake his head. He was going to reach up to rub his temples and relieve some of the pressure when he realized his hands were strapped down. He opened his eyes and saw he was not in the Tower or anywhere recognizable. He was in a wooden chair, held down by unyielding metal links around his ankles, abdomen, and hands. The room was strange and nonexistent. It was impossible for colors to meld that way. It was like reality was warped here.

"Ouch." Someone complained and Robin turned his head to the left to regard Raven coming to and observing her surroundings.

"Are you okay?" he asked her and she glared.

"I'm tied to a chair that's draining my powers, Robin. I wouldn't define that as okay."

"No need to be rude, Rae, I was making sure you weren't hurt. How is the chair draining your powers?"

As she opened her mouth to answer, a male voice with an obnoxious British accent answered for her.

"Because I designed it that way my duckies. Each of your chairs cancels out those nasty powers of yours." He tapped Raven's chair and then her nose. "Yours took the most planning, love. Your magic can ruin my lesson plan."

"Get away from her!" Robin commanded but the red-haired villain laughed and pushed up his glasses.

"That type of violence is what makes me nervous. Wakey wakey, children, Mad Mod needs to talk to you." He watched gleefully as the other three Titans woke up and laughed when Beast Boy tried to morph into a small animal to escape but only got zapped by the chair. "Now, now, children, you are here to learn to behave."

"Who are you?!" Cyborg demanded, fruitlessly struggling with the chains on his chair.

"The name's Mad Mod. I will be your teacher for the day, my duckies. You have been causing much trouble lately. Putting out fires, saving puppies, stopping criminals." Mad Mod showed them paintings of their do-gooding and shook his head. "I'll have to teach you the error of your ways."

"We aren't interested in what you have to say." Raven declared.

"Well now, who said you had a choice?" Mad Mod smiled as a bell rang and the Titans exchanged looks of puzzlement. "Time for class!" he pressed a button on the jeweled cane he twirled in his hands.

"What's happening?" Cyborg asked uneasily as the ground under his chair began shaking until the floor dropped open.

His scream was lost as he fell. Beast Boy's chair went next. Then Starfire's.

"I can't free myself from this. The chair is sucking the energy I need for my magic. When you're out of this, you have to find me. I don't have much time before the chair takes all my strength." Raven spoke hurriedly, feeling the ground open for her chair.

"I'll find you, Raven, I promise." He said, instinctively pulling at his restraints as she was dropped into darkness, which his chair soon followed.

* * *

Mad Mod was insane. This was clear for many reasons. First, he had drugged the Titans using concocted knockout gas he snuck into the tower. Then, he kidnapped them and put them in power-canceling chairs like a coward. Now, he had the Titans separated in school settings where the average writing utensil or desk would come alive to eat you or claw at your face.

Robin was placed in what seemed to be a history classroom, but he was bound to a desk with metal cuffs and encouraged to stare at a black and white screen that was clearly a tool for hypnosis and subsequent mind control. Mad Mod, speaking over an intercom, urged him to be a good boy and look at the screen, but Robin turned away and ignored the British man's voice as he concentrated on getting free. Raven said she needed him and he had to find a way to get to her.

He swung his weight from side to side until the desk and chair moved with him and gained enough momentum to crash to the floor and break the chair's restraints. He pulled himself to his feet and touched his utility belt, making sure everything was intact. At least Mad Mod had underestimated him and hadn't taken away his gadgets. He threw a birdarang at the hypnoscreen and broke it.

"Naughty, naughty!" the voice yelled from somewhere above and the room changed to show a narrow hallway with black and white tiled floor.

There was no end in sight, but marble busts of Mad Mod lined the hallway on both sides. Robin began walking down the hallway, taking his Bo staff from his pocket and elongating it to its battle size. This was a smart move as the statues began floating and their eyes emitting laser beams that threatened to slice the clothes off his back.

Robin flipped and somersaulted around the room, destroying the statues using both ends of his powerful staff. It didn't take long to clear the room. He was cleaning off the white dust from his Bo staff when he heard the scream.

It was Raven's voice, though he hadn't heart her voice raise to anything but a violent hiss at Beast Boy, he knew it was her. He ran in the direction of the sorceress' continuous shriek and punched the white wall in frustration. The material, which turned out to be only paper, ripped and the interminable hallway opened to a science laboratory where the experiment was a tied down Raven facing down an electric ray that was inches away from her chair.

"Robin." She sighed in relief as he knelt at her feet and whipped out a small laser from his utility belt to release her from the chair.

She instantly stood but the energy she'd lost its toll and her legs wobbled so she fell forward. Robin reacted quickly, catching her and jumping to one side as the lethal ray destroyed Raven's desk chair.

"My my, Robin, you are quite the troublemaker, aren't you?" Mad Mod's voice rang through the room and a hypnoscreen appeared.

Robin felt his eyes contract with the swirl of black and white shades on the screen, but before his mind was lost to hypnosis, a bolt of black energy slammed against the screen, breaking it into pieces.

"I think we're even now." Raven told him, standing somewhat shakily from his arms.

"I didn't know we were keeping score. Is there a prize for the winner?" he winked suggestively and laughed when she glared.

"Let's find the others, Blunder Boy."

"Yes, milady."

He got a stronger look for that.

* * *

It didn't take long to meet up with the others. The Teen Titans were not know for easy defeats and Mad Mod was a fool if he thought kidnapping them and plopping them in crazy classrooms would stop them… At least not all of them.

"What happened to Beast Boy?" Robin asked Cyborg, who had the changeling slung over one shoulder.

"One of those screens of hypnotic means has made him this way." Starfire explained and Cyborg nodded, lowering him onto the ground.

"I broke out of my chair in some math hallway and BB was next door. I was too late, though."

The Titans watched as Beast Boy snorted in his sleep and began drooling onto Cyborg's feet.

"Watch it, man!" he jumped back and shook the spit off.

"Where did Mad Mod send you, Star?" Robin asked.

"A most horrible room with nets and balls of a great variety of shapes and sizes. It had the pungent smell of sweaty socks." She scrunched up her nose.

"Yeah, high school gymnasiums aren't the cleanest places." Cyborg laughed.

"Ok, Titans, we need a game plan here. Mad Mod has us trapped in a madhouse of his making. How do we stop him?" Robin asked the team.

"We can't stop him in here. He seems to bend reality as he pleases. "

"Raven is correct. The Mad Mod waves a shiny stick around and we are at once separated and being chased by balls."

"Wait a minute, Star, that's right! That 'shiny stick' of his is the source of his power!" Cyborg said. "He lifts the top of ruby, presses a button and we're at his will. If we can get the stick, we can take over this school."

"Only if you catch me, poppets! Only if you catch me." The Brit himself ran up the main staircase and danced at the top, taunting them to chase.

"What do we do about friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked concernedly, picking up the green Titan and holding him up.

"Make him laugh! Stupid jokes and fart noises will get his brain working right again." Cyborg offered, following Robin and Raven up the staircase.

"Um, boogers dipped in the poo?" Starfire said and Beast Boy blinked before laughing uproariously.

"What's happening?" he asked, realizing where he was.

"We must assist our friends now!" she flew after the others, letting Beast Boy catch up in hawk form.

* * *

The chase had turned ridiculous and the Titans had run into Mad Mod twice and themselves three times. Every door led to another one or to empty space where they'd fall in a heap. There were hypnoscreens at every corner and robot sentinels around every turn. Robin was getting frustrated.

"This isn't working!"

"Don't you worry that little head of yours, duckies! Ol Moddie was running to tire you lot out, but I find you quite uncooperative with my procedure. We'll have to start from the beginning again!" the villain cackled, appearing behind them in the white room the last door they'd chosen had deposited them.

"What does that mean?" Cyborg asked and his answer came in a robot army that burst through a hole in the wall, toppling him over and immobilizing him in their arms.

"I'll save you, Cy!" Beast Boy said but he didn't get far before a hypnoscreen emerged from the floor and trapped in him his previous trance once more.

"Ugh!" Raven said when he fell back on her, drool hitting her cloak.

She pushed him off but the distraction allowed one of the robots to grab her and force her into an armchair that tied her down and began draining her powers more rapidly. She cried out as the magic was ripped from her hands. Starfire's eyes were neon green with anger but every robot she destroyed bred five more and soon she was strapped into another power-canceling chair like Raven. Robin gave his struggling team one look and turned to Mad Mod with intensified vigor.

He blew a path through the robots with his explosive discs and managed to dive at Mod. He aimed for the jeweled stick and just when he though he had it, he went through Mad Mod's form, grasping at air.

"What?" Robin stared at Mad Mod, who laughed at him and whirled the stick like a baton.

"I'm the principal of this school and naughty children don't get any say in their lessons!"

Robin moved out of the way as Mad Mod swiped at him with the stick. Behind the villain, his eye caught the hole in the wall caused by the robot's entrance. The idea came to him then and his lips widened into a smirk as he flipped over Mad Mod and jumped through the hole. As he'd suspected, the Titans had been held in one location the whole time. Behind the wall, there were millions of wires and circuits leading to a hidden room in the back of the facility.

Robin ripped wires left and right and the Titans in the main room were released from their bonds as the robots malfunctioned and fell to the ground. Robin entered the small room and saw Mad Mod the way he truly was: old and unexceptional. He took him out with one kick and destroyed the computers in the command room.

"School's out, Mod." He declared.

Robin returned to see two of the Titans on the floor with one of the others kneeling nearby. Beast Boy's eyes were not green but black and white, though Cyborg was using every corny joke and gross noise he could think of. Of more concern was Raven, who was leaning against Starfire for support and had her eyes closed and her breathing uneven.

"What happened to raven?" Robin wasted no time in asking.

"The chair drained a lot out of her. She's trying to self-heal, I think, but it's slower than usual. Where did he get those chairs? They were specially designed for each of us. Who would go through so much trouble?" Cyborg asked and Robin's features hardened.

He had an inkling of who it could be but mentioning Slade to his team would not be a good idea. They had all forgiven him at their own times and the team's bond was it had been. He didn't want to ruin that at the moment.

"Snap Beast Boy out of it. We need to return to the Tower so Raven can rest."

"I've been trying, man! I did it all!" Cyborg paused and gave Beast Boy a thoughtful glance before proceeding to give him a wet willy.

The changeling jumped up and laughed loudly.

"Wet willy! Classic! What'd I miss, guys?" he looked around, grinning.

* * *

Raven opened her eyes a few hours later, feeling fully rested with her powers where they belonged. She sat up and pushed her legs to one side, preparing to leave the med lab when a throat was cleared behind her.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"To my room."

"You were weakened today because your magic was drained. You shouldn't be moving about, Rae."

"I wasn't in a car accident, Robin. A chair attacked me. I'm fine now." She stood, clasping her cloak around her when she found it on the table.

"Sue me for worrying about my teammate." He stood from the chair he'd pulled to her bedside.

"Were you here the whole time?" she looked at the chair and then up at him.

Robin blushed and mumbled something unintelligible.

"I don't have supersonic hearing, Robin."

He narrowed his eyes at her but repeated what he'd said.

"Of course I was here the whole time. I'll always be here for you, remember?"

It was Raven's turn to flush, though it wasn't as pronounced as Robin's had been.

"Thank you." She said softly and he smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Would you like to walk me to my room? Since you're so worried about me."

"It would be my pleasure, Rae." He took her arm in his and began walking towards her room.

"This feels like we're walking to a ballroom."

"Hmm, the mayor's annual ball is coming up soon…"

"I don't think so."

"We're expected to go as the city's cherished heroes."

"I'll be there."

"It won't count unless you dance and mingle with the Jump City elite."

She rolled her eyes.

"Mingle? It's a word I'm not familiar with."

They reached her door and he stopped, moving her arm to take her hand instead.

"But you're familiar with dancing, right? I eagerly await our dances, milady." He kissed her hand with the formality and chivalry of ancient knights.

Raven couldn't speak if she wanted to.

"It's a black and white ball. No uniforms. I suggest you start picking your dress." He backed away from her, grinning his signature grin until finally he turned and entered his own room.

Raven found herself laying down on her bed with a compromise to be Robin's dance partner and wear an appropriate ball gown. What was happening to her?

(The next chapter will be Apprentice Pt 1 because Car Trouble will remain the same. This chapter had sweet moments to prepare you all for the darker issues coming up in Apprentice)


	9. Chapter 9

For some reason I listened to a lot of Lana Del Rey to write this… I think it was her haunting voice and the darkness of some of her lyrics. It helped me channel Rae/Rob at this time, specifically Video Games, Young and Beautiful, and Radio. The next part will be longer, I think.

Also, the story will now gain its M rating for any future cursing, dark themes, and violence.

**Apprentice Pt. I**

The nightmares were getting worse. Robin hadn't slept for more than three hours in close to a month. It was a miracle the others-namely Raven hadn't noticed. Robin was a skilled liar-something he knew he shouldn't be proud of- and appeared to function normally. At night, that changed. His dreams and his unconscious state were his vulnerable states and Slade had found its way into the depths of his brain, crawling maliciously through his mind, leaving him gasping for breath when he jolted awake after another lost battle or the death of one of his friends.

Slade had been dormant for a while and the Titans had dealt with petty thieves and the Hive a few times, but criminal activity was at a low. Unfortunately, this meant something bad was coming. And Robin wanted to be ready for whatever Slade would bring his way.

That night's dream began like the others. Robin fought Slade, kicking and punching with fervor and causing minimal damage to the villain. Suddenly, Slade was running away. Robin chased him, confused but determined to win this time. The scenery changed from wild forestry to the familiar Titans Tower. Robin frowned, pulling out his Bo staff, and entering the building cautiously.

He found him in the living room. Littered around him were his friends' bodies. Except there was one missing…?

"Looking for something, Robin?" the dark voice taunted and he spun, clutching a frightened Raven to his chest.

She struggled but Slade only tightened his grip and soon Raven was wheezing, desperately searching for oxygen.

"Let her go!" Robin shouted but he couldn't move, as if the ground beneath his feet had trapped him there.

He could only watch in horror as Raven's pale face grew blue and her body slackened, dropping to the ground with a resounding thud. She was dead.

"No!" Robin screamed and finally able to move, he rushed forward to throw Slade to the ground. "Who are you?!"

"Oh, Robin, you know exactly who I am."

Robin ripped the mask off Slade's face and cried out. It was his face. Slade wore _his_ face.

Robin fell to the ground and screamed as a cacophony of malevolent laughter invaded his senses.

"Robin!"

The Boy Wonder jumped up, effectively tumbling from his bed to the floor beneath.

"Robin! Are you okay?"

Robin stood up slowly, his gaze running over Raven's worried features to the rest of her frame. She was perfectly fine and perfectly _alive_. The nightmare had shaken him, but he couldn't let her see that. She would ask questions he didn't want to answer and she'd figure out something was wrong with him.

"I'm fine. Why are you in my room?"

"The alarm sounded. It's Slade."

Robin's blood went cold. Raven felt the spike in his emotions, but before she could say anything he was pushing past her to the living room.

* * *

_A chronotron detonator. A bomb that would explode and stop time. Permanently. Countless lives would end. Slade would win. Slade would win. Slade would win!_

Robin's fist slammed down onto the keyboard, breaking it in half and making Starfire squeak in surprise.

"Robin?" the alien girl asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to stop him. Scour the city. Split up and do not stop until you find that detonator!" Robin growled, shoving the hand off his shoulder and barreling past his other teammates to the door.

"Dude, wait, splitting up isn't a good idea." Beast Boy said.

"It's what I say we do and as team leader, what I say goes!"

Beast Boy's eyes widened and Cyborg crossed his arms angrily. He would not be ordered around like an animal.

"Robin." A voice as calm as the ocean at midnight forced him to pause and turn around.

He expected a lecture or a stern look, but Raven wasn't even facing him. She had repaired the keyboard and replayed the transmission, slowing it down and zooming in on a detail everyone else had missed. Behind Slade was a sign that read Pier 31.

"Slade gave us more than he thought. This is down by the docks. There's no need to split up if we know where we're going, is there?"

Her violet eyes met his and he took a deep breath.

"No, we can all go."

He moved forward to take the elevator down to the T-car. Starfire and Beast Boy followed, but Cyborg turned to Raven.

"He can't handle this."

"We don't know that, Cyborg."

"He broke a keyboard and yelled at us like we were his servants!"

"He's under a lot of pressure. You know Slade is his sore spot."

"I know. That's why I don't think he should be leading us right now."

"Robin is our leader. Through thick and thin. He deserves a chance."

"Have you forgotten about Red X?"

"I have not. Have you forgotten about everything else Robin has done? All the times he's saved us and guided us?"

Cyborg sighed.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Robin would never hurt us."

"I just need you to be careful. Robin is unstable when it comes to Slade."

"He won't lose control this time, Cyborg."

Cyborg didn't look convinced, but he knew Raven was as stubborn as the boy in discussion, so he simply gestured to the elevator and followed the swish of her cloak.

* * *

Raven hated being wrong. She hated it more than anything else because it made her look like a liar or an idiot who spoke without real knowledge or sense of what she was saying. And this felt 100 times worse than anything else because being wrong about Robin made her feel like the biggest fool in the world.

The pier had been a trap, but the dozens of Sladebots hadn't been the problem. They could have defeated them easily as a team. Instead, Robin shoved them all aside and took the robots on himself, fighting with a veracity that made the others cringe. Starfire had gently told him the battle was over when he kept punching a demolished robot. He snarled something about Slade and ran from the pier, following a shadow he'd seen.

When the Titans saw him holding an innocent bystander by the neck and scaring the older man to tears, Raven's eyes glowed with magic and she grasped Robin with her dark aura and slammed him against the wall. The older man fled from the scene but no one paid him any attention.

Raven stepped forward, still holding Robin against the wall. He had groaned when his back met the cold metal behind him but she hadn't cared.

"We need to find Slade! You're wasting my time!" Robin was yelling but Raven just slammed him another time even harder so he yelped in pain.

"Friend Raven." Starfire gasped.

"Raven. Let him go." Cyborg said softly.

"You were right." She said and her voice almost cracked. "I was wrong about him."

"Dark Girl, you can't always be right. It's okay. Let him go and we can fix this."

Robin had quieted down after Raven spoke and his brow furrowed as he understood the conversation was about him.

"How can we fix this? Slade's out there and we aren't fit to find him."

"We're the Teen Titans. We can and will do anything we have to do to save this city. You have to believe we can do it." Cyborg has lowered his voice, swallowing his own insecurities to reassure his little sister.

The android knew Robin was reacting as he usually did to Slade's presence, but the only one who could save him was Raven and if she was in worse shape than Robin things would go to hell.

"Let him go now, Dark Girl." His voice was tender and she sighed, releasing Robin carefully.

"Raven-

Whatever Robin was going to say was cut off by Starfire's volatile sneeze.

"Gesundheit." Beast Boy managed after putting out the green fire on his uniform.

"Apologies, friends, it is my allergies. There must be a raw source of metallic chromium nearby." She rubbed her nose and Cyborg's cybernetic eye lit up.

"Amazing!"

"Not really. It is a common allergy on my planet." She explained but Cyborg was tapping keys on the built in screen in his left arm.

"Metallic chromium is one of the largest components of a chronotron detonator."

"And that means… Star can track it." Beast Boy grinned.

She sniffed and gave the others a weak smile. Cyborg pushed her forward, chattering excitedly about different types of metals and their chemical components as Beast Boy stared at Starfire, waiting for the next explosive sneeze. Raven and Robin stood, facing off, their eyes locked in an intense stare that neither could break.

"I'm sorry." Robin said and Raven blinked, looking at the ground between them.

"For?"

"For failing you."

She looked up.

"You haven't failed me yet, Robin."

"Yes, I have. I lost my composure with this. Slade makes me forget I'm running a team and I can't bark orders and crack skulls because I think it's right. I'm sorry I acted like that and I'm sorry you had to be the one to stop me."

"Don't apologize for that. You told me you'd always be there for me and I can't help but reciprocate."

Robin took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"Thank you."

A stack of crates exploded in a nearby pier, but Raven couldn't bring herself to care. Her hand tingled and her skin was dusted a shade of pink. At that moment, Raven believed everything would be okay. And oh how wrong she was.

* * *

Days later Raven would blame herself for what happened. How did she miss the warning signs?

Cinderblock suddenly appeared, separating Robin from the group, and though she was prepared to help him, Robin urged her to follow the Sladebot who had the chronotron detonator. She had complied because Robin could defeat Cinderblock with his eyes closed, but when the Titans reached the Sladebot and faced the detonator that exploded in only a harmless burst of light, Raven was suspicious.

"Is that it?" Beast Boy asked.

"I guess it was a distraction." Cyborg reasoned.

"For what purpose?" Starfire inquired and Raven's eyes hardened.

"To get Robin alone."

"Fuck." Cyborg cursed and the others couldn't help but agree.

* * *

From an underground lair miles away, Robin watched his friends put the pieces together a few steps too late. He watched Raven's dark energy blow up the speedboat and cause waves in the water. Starfire grabbed Cyborg as Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and Raven levitated so they could exit through an upwards opening.

"Where is Robin?" Starfire asked and Raven began calling him to his communicator.

Robin heard the vibration of the incoming call but simply stared at the device, set on a table a few feet away from him. A gloved hand smashed against it, instantly destroying the communicator.

"You have no need for a Titan communicator now, Robin. Or should I say… Apprentice."

Robin watched the screens, feeling cold though his body was fully covered by his new suit. He wore Slade's mark instead of his old insignia and the mark seemed to cut through the flexible material to his very soul.

"Friend Raven, what is wrong?"

"He's not picking up. It doesn't even ring anymore."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know, Starfire. I don't know." She admitted.

The Titans left the sewers and their condemned leader watched them depart, knowing inside them ran death in the form of nanoscopic probes.

"Come, Apprentice, we have much planning to do."

Robin bowed his head and turned to follow his new master.

* * *

In the darkness of her room, Raven stared at her communicator blankly. She expected it to vibrate in her hand, signaling the safety of her leader but no such thing occurred. Starfire had yelled into her communicator and forced Beast Boy to yell with her. Cyborg had tried to track Robin by his communicator but the signal was destroyed or distorted, whichever it was led to nothing.

Raven had sunk into meditation, concentrating her magic on locating Robin, but she was either too weak to do so or Robin's mind was too strong and blocked off for her to reach. Her powers could only go so far. She had formed no bond to any of her teammate's bonds and without their tracking devices, they were really lost to her. This fact made her shut her eyes and dig her nails into her palms with guilt.

She had been the one to fail Robin not the other way around. She had let him combat Cinderblock alone and had allowed Slade to take him away. On top of that, the detonator had been a trick and the Titans had only been blinded by a flash of bright light before falling into sewer water. They had all failed Robin and now? Now he was gone and Raven felt his loss in every part of her being.


	10. Chapter 10

**Apprentice Pt. 2**

It had been exactly four days since Robin had disappeared and every night since the Titans had looked for him. Starfire would call out to him and Beast Boy would squawk in different bird forms, as if that would bring their leader out from wherever he was. Cyborg and Raven would walk behind the two silently. Cyborg had his thermal sensor and tracking device out. Raven was reaching out with her mind, hoping to somehow touch Robin's or sense his aura. No Titan had much luck. They went home discouraged.

"Guys, it's time to hit the sack. We can't afford to lose sleep and vitality. We have training in the morning and a longer patrol from the afternoon on." Cyborg was telling them.

Cyborg had assumed the role of temporary leader after consulting the decision with Raven. They agreed neither Starfire nor Beast Boy were suitable to lead and though Raven had the intelligence to do so, she didn't feel comfortable giving orders or taking a position that she felt to be singly Robin's. Cyborg was always fear and reasonable, though, and Raven felt that his leadership was more of a partnership because they made most pronouncements together.

"But I am not tired." Starfire protested yawning immediately after.

Beast Boy was falling asleep where he was and even Raven felt fatigue in her body. It was after midnight and they had all been awake before seven that morning. Sleep was necessary.

"Sweet dreams, my friends." Starfire said, leaving the room.

"Nighty night." Beast Boy threw over his shoulder.

"You're not going to bed." Raven observed and Cyborg shook his head.

"There's some paperwork I have to finish for yesterday's bank job."

"I can help you."

"No, you should get some rest, Dark Girl."

"Why do I have to?"

"You have bags under your eyes and you're holding back a yawn."

Raven glared.

"You look the same."

"Yeah, but I'm the leader and that means forging sleep sometimes. Man… I sound like Robin." He made a face and Raven gave a small laugh.

"How horrid."

"Horrendous, actually."

They shared a laugh but then lapsed into silence.

"I miss him." Raven admitted.

"Me too."

"What if Slade's hurting him? What if he's killed him and we arrive just to pick up a body?"

Cyborg noticed loose tendrils of power escaping the sorceress and quickly wrapped her in his large frame, hugging her tightly.

"Shh. Take a deep breath. Robin's not dead. You know that and I know that. He's a survivor and a fighter. Slade will not be his undoing. I promise you we will find him."

"Okay." She whispered and while Cyborg did the paperwork, Raven slept on the living room couch, choosing to be in the company of her trusted friend instead of the suffocating silence of her room.

* * *

They had been patrolling for two hours when they received the call from the police chief. A technology depot was missing their latest thermal blaster prototype- a machine capable of blasting a hole through a concrete wall with ease. Cyborg affirmed that the Teen Titans were on their way and the chief was distracted enough to forget there was one important Titan missing.

"Who would steal a single thermal blaster? Why not more?" Raven was asking as they glided over rooftops to reach the depot.

"This blaster is the newest of its kind. There might not be more than one and maybe the thief only needs the one. It's clearly not the Hive." Cyborg responded.

"There!" Starfire pointed and the Titans stopped at the edge of the roof as a shadow moved lithely across the roof.

The murky figure stopped underneath an illuminated billboard, allowing the team to see his face. They gasped and only Raven had the voice to speak.

"Robin?"

* * *

"Alright, these are the only possibilities." Beast Boy, pointer in hand, was gesturing to a black board he had filled with pictures and scribbles. "One, he's a zombified ninja. Two, he's from another crazy dimension where the good guys are the bad guys. And three, his body had been snatched by an alien from outer space!"

"Friend Beast Boy, which alien would this be? I know of no aliens who use earthly bodies for their taking." Starfire's brow was furrowed as she actually contemplated the black board.

"Well, uh, the aliens from… Mars?"

"Cut it out, BB, this is no joke. That was Robin that got away. My sensors said so."

Beast Boy sighed.

"I know. It smelled like him."

Cyborg gave him a disgusted look.

"What? I have animal senses and scents are easily distinguishable for most animals. I know what all of you smell like. It's a signature smell for each person."

"I wish I didn't know any of that." Cyborg said with a glower.

Raven remained quiet, staring off into space. The boys were busy bickering, their go to method for dealing with stress of severity. Only Starfire, tilting her head thoughtfully, noticed the empath's behavior.

"Friend Raven?" she called softly and Raven snapped to attention.

"What?"

"Would you like to go up to the roof with me and perhaps do some meditation?"

Starfire had asked Raven to help her achieve inner peace and practice meditation from time to time and the latter had gladly accepted. Starfire was an eager pupil and she picked up on the correct posture, breathing, and mentality needed for mediating easily. She nodded and the girls left the room without the other two even noticing.

* * *

Starfire waited a good half hour before turning to her companion and asking her if she missed Robin.

"Of course I do, Starfire, he's our leader and we all need him." Raven had opened her eyes at the question but was not meeting her friends' inquisitive emerald gaze, instead she watched the ocean below.

The waves were turbulent and slammed against the rocky coastline without apology.

"That is not what I meant, friend. And I believe you know what I refer to. Do you not trust me?"

"I trust you, Star."

"Then? Do you miss Robin? Not as our leader but as something else."

"Something else? Like what?"

"Like a close friend… or a lover." The word was said casually but Raven still flinched.

"Do you know what that word means?"

"Yes, a lover is the person you feel the love for, correct?"

"Not exactly. A lover is the person you have sexual intercourse with."

"Oh." Starfire blushed. "I apologize."

"I don't love Robin." Raven said firmly. "I don't _do _love because I don't _do _emotions."

"That, friend, is a lie. You do have emotions and I have seen them firsthand. You smile and I have heard you laugh with friend Cyborg. And with Robin… you feel more than you are admitting to yourself. You have a special affinity that we are all aware of. Now Robin is gone and you miss him. Emotionally, you miss him and are upset by his absence. We have seen him, alive but working for our enemy and so you feel confusion and more sadness, do you not?"

"When did you get so perceptive?" Raven grumbled and Starfire laughed, a tinkling airy sound.

"Since our friendship strengthened, Raven. You have taught me many things."

"So you use them against me?"

"It is for your benefit, friend. I wish for you to find happiness. Robin can grant you that happiness."

"But, what about you?"

"Me?" she laughed again. "Friend Raven, I once had the feelings for friend Robin, but now he is just that. A friend. As I told you before, we are much too different to find harmony together. Also, Aqualad and I are… together."

"Really? That's great, Star. I'm happy for you." Raven said genuinely.

"Thank you, friend. And see? Another emotion on your part. Happiness for me."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Quit it, Sherlock, I gave in a long time ago."

"Who is this Sherlock?"

"Never mind." Raven smiled and watched the ocean again.

"Raven?"

"Hmm?"

"We will get Robin back."

"I know."

"Then why do you remain solemn?"

"Because when we get him back, I fear the rift between us will be too great to overcome. Whatever comes next won't be pleasant and most likely it won't be good."

Starfire digested this and nodded once.

"Dejectedly, I must agree."

* * *

The following night, the team had stayed home, but the alarm came anyway and Cyborg gravely read the computer's update.

"It's him again."

"How do you know?" Beast Boy asked.

"Another weapon. Another high tech location."

"We must go then." Starfire stated.

"We don't have time to waste getting the car. Close your eyes and take a deep breath." Raven commanded and the Titans didn't question her.

Seconds later they had teleported to the roof of the Wayne Enterprises building.

"That was intense." Beast Boy said.

"Whatever." Raven glared.

"We made it just in time." Cyborg pointed. "Look."

Robin had just emerged from the building with a black case in one hand.

"Robin!" Cyborg called and he froze.

Robin whirled to face them but didn't respond.

"We just want to talk." Cyborg continued, stepping forward with his hands up.

Robin analyzed him, waited a few seconds, and then flipped forward to kick the cybernetic teen to the ground.

"Guess there's nothing to talk about." Beast Boy snarled, morphing into a powerful gorilla and grabbing Robin in his fists, launching him to the ground hard, where he rolled and stopped near the edge of the roof.

Beast Boy resumed human form and ran to his fallen leader.

"Dude, are you okay?"

Robin suddenly jumped up and delivered a furious combination of punches to the changeling, dropping him at his feet. Starfire took to the air, her hands and eyes aglow.

"Robin, do not make me do this." She warned.

Robin launched exploding projectiles at the Tamaranean and she dodged them all, shooting starbolts back at him. Robin waited until she'd flown close enough to the ground to pull her all the way down, surprising her and using a roundhouse kick to knock her temporarily unconscious.

The crate hit from behind and he hissed in pain, knowing he'd left the most powerful of his teammates for last. Robin turned and saw Raven in a battle stance, watching him with her eyes narrowed. He was sidetracked by the beautiful amethyst gaze and was jolted to reality when Slade's voice attacked his ear.

_What are you waiting for? Get me my weapon!_

Robin flinched at the feedback from his earpiece and ran towards Raven, executing a high flip over her to climb up the Wayne Enterprises sign.

_Apprentice, where is my weapon?_

"I had to drop it. The building was too heavily guarded. I'll have to come back another night."

_No! You will stay and __**fight**__. That is an order._

"Robin."

He looked up to see Raven, floating in front of him, her hood down and her face exposed to him. Her features were contorted in sadness and his eyes widened at the unveiled emotion on her face.

"Please, Robin, I know you're in there. Don't do this. Slade's done something to you, but come back with us and we can solve it together."

"Raven…" he relished the syllables of her name and the girl moved a touch closer to him at the sound.

_Apprentice, dispose of the final Titan._

Robin didn't move and Slade's voice lowered to a deadly whisper.

_Shoot her down with the thermal blaster or I will do it for you._

Robin knew his threats weren't to be taken lightly and he raised his arm, the thermal blaster coming to life as he aimed it at Raven.

"Fine." She raised an arm, her palm erupting with dark magic and her eyes glowing white as she focused the energy on Robin.

Neither moved and the standoff continued until Raven slowly lowered her arm and sighed, dropping her head.

"I can't do this. I can't fight you, Robin, and I can't do this. If evil is what you truly are, then shoot me." She floated down in front of him so that the thermal blaster was touching her chest.

"Raven." Robin breathed, shocked by her actions.

The sorceress was an unstoppable force with unlimited power and a strength she radiated effortlessly. This wasn't like her.

Robin had lowered the blaster when Slade's voice returned.

_You've left me no choice, __**Robin**__._

Raven gasped and collapsed into Robin's arms, her skin turning a sickly orange-red shade as the nanoscopic probes took effect in her body. Groans from below them alerted him to Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy's similar condition.

"What's happening?" Raven whispered and Robin stroked her glowing hair once before depositing her on the floor.

"I'm sorry." He said and this time when he aimed the thermal blaster, he did not hesitate.

* * *

When the sensation of his body being ripped apart from the inside stopped, Cyborg realized two things. One, Robin had escaped again. Two, Raven's body was close to dropping from the sign where she'd faced off against Robin. She tumbled off and he jumped up, catching her before she could meet the ground.

"Robin's gone." He told her and her eyes opened lethargically.

"He shot me, Cyborg."

"Who did?"

"Robin. He shot me with the thermal blaster. No second thoughts, he just shot." She was trembling in his arms and Cyborg's eyes shut in pain.

His best friend had hurt his little sister and he was torn between wanting to comfort the former and kill the latter.

"Robin's learned some scary new tricks, but how did he makes us go all glow in the dark on Halloween night?" Beast Boy chimed in and Cyborg's eyes flew open.

"That's it!"

"What is it?" Starfire asked.

"That wasn't Robin. It was Slade! He has something over Robin and I'm willing to be it has to do with us." He looked at the girl in his arms. "Robin would never hurt us willingly." He echoed her words, adding his own at the end.

"We need to get back to the tower." She said.

"Are you strong enough to teleport us?"

Her answer came in a wave of darkness that enveloped the team and transported them to the med lab.

* * *

"Slade!"

"Back so soon, Apprentice?" the villain grinned.

"You swore you wouldn't hurt them! You swore!"

"And you swore to serve me without question. I gave you orders and you ignored them. That was your punishment. Remember Robin that I am your master and if that means shooting down your little purple-haired girlfriend, so be it." He turned disinterestedly to his screen console and Robin growled.

"I've had enough." He launched himself at Slade but the villain moved to the side and grabbed him firmly by the wrist until he cried out, kicking out to release the iron grip.

The battle was rough on both sides, though Robin suspected Slade was holding back. The Boy Wonder ripped the black uniform off and threw it at Slade's boots, standing defiantly in the body suit he wore underneath the exterior armor.

"Foolish boy, if you do not submit, I will kill all your friends. Starting with Raven."

Robin rushed forward at the threat, but Slade grabbed his fist and pulled him off balance.

"I will always win, Robin. It is your choice to be on the winning side or… the side that dies."

Slade threw him to the floor and approached the probe machine to grab the remote that controlled all active probes. Before he could press any button, the left wall of the underground lair exploded, and depositing rubble in every direction.

"Booyah." Cyborg said matter-of-factly, blowing the smoke off his sonic cannon.

"Guys, get out of here! Slade has-

"We know." Cyborg cut him off.

"And we do not care." Starfire added.

"We're bailing you out of here, dude." Beast Boy said, glaring at Slade.

Raven stepped forward, reaching out to Robin in a stance that almost mirrored her earlier one. Robin had instinctively stretched out his hand to meet hers when Slade reacted, pressing the button to activate the probes. Raven cried out, falling to her knees in pain. The others fell behind her.

"No!" Robin yelled and suddenly he was at the probe machine, touching the surface and transferring probes to his own body.

Slade roared in anger and Robin smiled, managing to stand weakly on his feet through the pain.

"Now your precious apprentice dies too. Your move, bastard."

Slade crushed the remote with one hand and ran from the lair, activating the self-destruct module to destroy any evidence he'd left behind.

The Titans had recovered and Raven hastily teleported back to the Tower as the lair was decimated by a slew of hidden bombs.

* * *

Cyborg had found a way to remove all the probes. He'd examined Robin for any injuries and when he found none, he'd hugged his leader and best friend tightly. Beast Boy had followed and Starfire had almost crushed his every bone with her hug. The three Titans had glanced at Raven, who had had her arms wrapped around herself and had promptly left the medical lab. Even Beast Boy had realized the birds needed to have a serious conversation without further questioning. Cyborg was proud of his temporary maturity.

"Any apology I could begin to fathom wouldn't be enough." Robin said from his seat on a medical bed.

Raven hadn't moved any closer, hadn't moved at all from her spot against the front wall with her arms clutched to herself like a lifeline.

"Raven? Rae, please speak to me."

"I don't know what to say to you." Her voice was hoarse, though she had made sure to withhold any tears or sobs.

"At least look at me." He pleaded.

"I can't." she whispered.

Robin stood from the bed and grabbed her arms, adjusting them to fit around his waist instead of hers. His own arms went around her torso, so her face was hidden in his neck and his was in her lavender hair.

"Please don't hate me, Rae." He whispered and this made the tears she'd held onto for so long finally cascade down her face.

He felt the moisture on his neck and allowed his own eyes to shed his guilt and anguish.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She didn't speak but cried into him, clutching to his waist with all her strength. At some point she collapsed from exhaustion and he laid them down on the medical bed, caressing her hair until sleep took him too.

* * *

Raven had been gone when he woke the next morning but he wasn't surprised.

Life took on a false normalcy and for two weeks, the Titans ate meals in the same room, trained every day, and completed missions together, but everyone felt the distance at the very core of the group.

The third week of Robin's return was the mayor's annual ball. Robin had wanted to ignore it, but he knew he couldn't afford to do so. The mayor must have wondered where he'd disappeared to and though his stint with Slade would not be discussed, Robin was obligated to show up and give a convincing lie like an emergency trip to Gotham or something.

The team seemed to be excited but he wasn't completely sure as they hadn't discussed anything in a long time. They got along with small talk and forced conversation, but that night Robin was resolved to fix that, primarily because the icy barrier between he and Raven was killing him.

"Do we have to go this stupid party?" Beast Boy complained, pulling at his bowtie.

"Yes, we do. We made a commitment to the mayor, remember?"

"Not really. I hate these fancy, stuffy parties. They're no fun. I bet there won't even be a DJ!"

"No, at _balls_ there generally isn't a DJ. There's a live band."

"Boring!" the green Titan shouted, walking away hopefully to bother Cyborg, who was already dressed but was updating the Tower's security system once more.

"Friend Robin?"

"Yes, Starfire-wow. You look beautiful."

Starfire beamed and spun once so the hem of her princess style ball gown spun with her. She smoothed the edges down.

"Truly?"

"Yeah, truly."

The dress could have come out of a storybook. It was tight at the top but swelled out from the waist down like most princess dresses. It had some silver design on the strapless bodice and Starfire's red hair was arranged in an elegant bun that had loose hairs gracing her tanned neck.

"Careful or Aqualad will get the wrong idea."

"What do you mean?"

"He might think you're ready for the wedding with that dress."

She laughed and he joined in the infections laughter. They were all dressed up and going out as a team as they usually did. Things could be okay again.

"Robin."

"Yes, Star? Is it about Aqualad? I already told you we'll wait for him. Don't worry the limo won't be here for another fifteen minutes. He has plenty of time to swim up here and miraculously appear in a dry tuxedo."

"No, it is about Raven."

Robin opened his mouth but promptly closed it again.

"What about her?"

"Do not play the dumb with me, Robin. You care for Raven and she cares for you."

"She told you that?"

Starfire glared.

"She did not need to. I am not blind. Though I realize you have feelings for her and do not wish to hurt her, I must notify you that as her best friend, I shall not hesitate to blast you into oblivious with an eyebeam if you hurt her again. She has suffered greatly because of your time with Slade and is still not back to her usual self."

He sighed.

"I know. What do I do? She won't talk to me and she barely stays five minutes in the same room with me."

Starfire tapped a finger to her chin.

"You must use tonight as the opportunity to convince her you will not leave her again or betray her trust."

"I was trying to protect her!"

"Robin, you must understand what it felt like to us. You fought us at Slade's command and did not choose to tell us about what had happened. We were all confused, but Raven was hurt much more so."

"I-I know."

Starfire cocked her head to the side, listening to something his human ears hadn't picked up yet and her lips widened into a grin.

"I shall wait for Boyfriend Aqualad outside."

"Okay?" Robin stared after the alien girl in puzzlement.

When he faced forward again, he felt his jaw drop. Raven had entered the living room through the bedroom corridor and was suddenly in front of him, looking like an exotic goddess adorned in black silk.

The dress was skin tight and went to Raven's calves. Like Starfire's it was strapless and Raven's porcelain skin was displayed wonderfully. She wore silver heels that matched the glittering design around the waist of the dress. Raven's short hair had been slightly curled so it was in loose waves that touched her face, which had been left natural except for smoky eye shadow to bring out her amethyst eyes and lipstick to accentuate the soft plump lips Robin had found himself admiring too often.

"You look stunning, Rae." His lips felt dry and he quickly licked them, trying to remain cool.

"Thank you, Robin. You look nice too."

His suit was designer, an old gift from Bruce, and went perfectly with his subtle musculature and height.

"I know things have been strange between us, but this night should be fun for all of us and I can assure you I'll make it that way for you." He held out his arm and she contemplated him for a couple of seconds before stepping forward and taking it.

* * *

The night became a pleasurable blur for the Titans as the danced and drank sips of expensive wine before dancing again and eating from the vast buffet assortment. Raven had danced various times with Cyborg and accepted Beast Boy for two or three songs, but her main partner was Robin.

He was an expert dancer from endless lessons Bruce had forced him to take as a child. After all, Richard Grayson had an image to keep and as Bruce's adopted son, he was often in the limelight and at the elite events with Bruce. Dancing and small talking had been his fortes. Now, though, dancing was exhilarating because he was holding Raven's hand and Raven's waist. He spun her and held her as he wanted until they were both tired.

"One more?"

"I want to sit." Raven said, almost pouting due to the ache from the tight heels on her feet.

"It's a slow one. It won't be so bad and then we can sit the rest of the night away."

"Fine, Boy Wonder, lead the way." She rolled her eyes but resumed the dancing positing comfortably.

Her hand was warm in Robin's and the other lay gently on Robin's shoulder. As the dance began, Raven paid attention to the lyrics, recognizing it from some café she had passed by once.

"_I talk to you as to a friend_

_I hope that's what you've come to be._

_It feels as though we've made amends_

_Like we found a way_

_Eventually."_

Raven considered that. Robin had apologized. She had cried into his arms. Then, the team was functioning as it had before. Still, was everything resolved?

"_It was you who picked the pieces up_

_When I was a broken soul_

_And then glued me back together_

_Returned to me_

_What others stole."_

Robin had noticed Raven's attention to the song and had begun examining the lyrics as well. The verse certainly applied to him. Raven brought him back to himself. Slade was so close to dominating him, but Robin's feelings for Raven had kept him grounded and had given him the strength to fight Slade and save all the Titans. Slade had tried to steal his loyalty and steal his identity, but he'd failed.

"_I don't want to hurt you,_

_I don't want to make you sway_

_Like I know I've done before_

_I will not do it anymore._

_I've always been a dreamer_

_I hide my head among the clouds._

_Now that I'm coming down_

_Will you be my solid ground?_"

"I need some air." Raven breathed, pulling away from him and exiting the ballroom to the garden in the back.

Robin sighed, following her as the song's chorus repeated in the background.

* * *

Raven was seated on an ornate bench, twirling a rose she'd taken from a nearby bush in her hands. She didn't look up when Robin approached or when he sat next to her. Neither spoke for a while, but Raven kept twirling the rose. Robin watched her but decided to let her speak first.

"I don't trust you." She blurted and stared firmly at the flower.

Robin was thankful his eyes were hidden behind his ever present mask because he had to forcibly blink away tears at her words.

"I know it wasn't your fault and Slade used us to control you, but I still think you could have found a way to tell us and let us help you. Instead, you shot me with a thermal blaster and ran away from us."

Robin grabbed her hand, halting the rose's motion and making her eyes meet his.

"There were many things I could have done differently and many more I wish I had done instead. But, my priority was keeping you safe and alive. Slade would have killed you before me and I couldn't let that happen."

"I doubted you. I actually thought you'd betrayed us."

Her words were sending pinpricks to his heart.

"I would never betray you, Raven."

"You've done it twice because of Slade. You become fixated on capturing him and you lose all reason. You forget you have teammates or friends. You turn into him."

Robin put his head in his hands and Raven dropped the rose to fully face him. She had wanted to be honest with him, but his pain was not something she enjoyed.

"Robin."

He didn't respond.

"Robin. I care about you. More than I have for anyone else. More than I thought my powers would allow." She looked at her hands. "That's why what you did affected me so deeply and that's why I don't trust you. You can hurt me too easily and that scares me." Raven stood, dusting off her dress. "I'll see you tomorrow. I need to go now." She walked away but teleported halfway, presumably to her room.

Robin briefly removed his mask to wipe away stray tears but it was back before anyone could even think of looking. He still felt pained that Raven didn't trust him, but he knew it was deserved. Still, she had revealed other things he had been hoping for quite some time. Raven did care for him and that meant he had a chance to fix everything.

Robin picked up the rose Raven had dropped and brought it to his nose, inhaling the sweet aroma and remembering the beautiful girl who'd held it minutes before. He put it inside his jacket and stood to enter the ball again and make the adequate farewells. He would be heading back to the Tower as well. There were long days ahead.

* * *

END OF SEASON 1

Ok, that was a long one! I am excited for the next season and for the progression of Rob/Rae's relationship. There are still a lot of episodes to go so I can't just have them perfectly in love right now. The best relationships have to be worked at and solidified.

BTW, the song they danced to was Sway by the Perishers. It was in Veronica Mars, another of my favorite shows and it was used for another OTP of mine. Logan/Veronica! The song was just so fitting for the situation so I used it and I hope everyone liked it!

Please review and tell me everything you think, absolutely everything. I encourage all criticism and feedback. Thanks for all the support, guys! I love my readers!


	11. Chapter 11

Season Two! This season is an exciting one.

I want to thank all my faithful reviewers for their support and thank you to my twin AryaTindomiel for her reviews, which were in-depth and really helpful. Thank you, I love you, girl!

I didn't like the ending to this one so much, but eh, I couldn't think of a better one. Hope you like it, though!

**How Long Is Forever?**

Starfire woke that morning with a mile-long smile and a squeal of excitement. She had been awaiting the coming of one of her favorite Tamaranean holidays: Blorthog, the Day of Friendship. The cheery alien was aware of the team's subtle dysfunction. The Titans were not fully in sync with each other. Robin's time as Slade's apprentice and their enemy had taken its toll on all the members. Raven, especially, had not regained the relationship she'd had with their leader.

The effect could be seen in Cyborg and Beast Boy in the form of ridiculous arguments that escalated seemingly out of nowhere. The past week Beast Boy opened the fridge to see they were out of tofu and had blamed it on the android, who was more than happy to raise his voice and pick a fight with his green teammate. Robin had withdrawn into himself after various failed attempts to talk to Raven and interact with her as he had before. He joined them for meals because of a sense of duty, but most days he would lock himself in his room or the Research Room or the Evidence Room. It was not healthy and Starfire had tried to talk him out of his brooding, but he'd shrugged her attempts off.

Starfire was not deterred, though. She would use this wondrous holiday to reunite her friends. They couldn't go on pretending forever. There were things that had to be accepted and forgiven so they could all move on. Starfire took a quick shower, readying herself for the day. Then, she called Aqualad on his communicator to wish him a Happy Blorthog. Understandably, he'd been baffled. When she explained the occasion, he nodded and smiled tenderly at his girlfriend.

"You're thinking this will heal the team."

"It is a most necessary holiday. We are more than teammates. We are true friends. It is time we remembered this."

"Dearest, I know you want to help your friends, but you must take some things into consideration. Raven and Robin are introverted people, who keep their feelings locked up for as long as they can. At this sensitive time, they might not be open to this. Cyborg and Beast Boy are not introverts, but they can feel the tension between the others and they have both felt hurt by Robin's seeming betrayal. It is a hard time for all, you included. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Boyfriend Aqualad, if not me then who?"

He sighed.

"You're right. I'm just worried about your feelings, that's all."

"And I thank you." She smiled sweetly. "You care very much for me and when Flaborg, the Day of Love, arrives, we shall have a pleasant time together."

He laughed.

"I can't wait. Good luck, dearest."

They hung up and Starfire rushed to her large dresser to search for the special necklaces she'd made for the holiday. Each necklace had twenty beads. The beads signified different things, like peace, togetherness, support, compassion, so on. They were meant to describe the bonds of friendship and how meaningful that friendship was. Starfire carefully grabbed five necklaces and flew to the living room.

* * *

The living room was chaos come alive.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing a violent combat video game, where blood and saliva were split in obscene quantities every which way. The boys had the volume at headache-inducing levels and would intermittingly shout above it to taunt the other over whatever happened in the game. However, there was one noise that overpowered the video game shout match.

Robin had his stereo on to the loudest decibel and stood directly in front of it, allowing the blasting music to blow his hair back with the force. Starfire didn't know the song or the band, but the lyrics were about solidarity and superiority. This was not a good sign.

The final Titan sat at one of the booths near the kitchen with a book obstructing any view of her face. Her knuckles were white from the pressure on the book and it was obvious the noise around her was bothering her. It was only a matter of time before she exploded.

And that was when Starfire decided to raise her arms and wish her friends a Happy Blorthog. No one heard her and she tried two more times to no avail.

Raven had noticed Starfire's entrance and saw her lips moving to form something she couldn't hear over a Metallica CD and Deadly Strike IV: The Final Battle. She slammed her book on the table.

"Make that louder, Robin, I can still hear myself think!" she growled and Robin, hearing the comment turned to glower at her.

He had grown tired of her cold sarcasm and the way she brushed off his presence as if it were meaningless. When she left the mayor's ball, he'd assumed she'd been upset and he'd given her time to herself. When he approached her again, she'd muttered rude comments until he left the room and this became her constant behavior around him. Robin didn't understand it. She'd said she cared about him, but then why was she rejecting him at every turn? How would he regain her trust if she didn't give him the opportunity?

"If I could make it louder and drown you out, I would." He snapped and Raven felt her hands darken with magic.

"Friends, do not fight." Starfire pleaded.

"Why are you playing that crap right now? Aren't Beast Boy and Cyborg loud enough for you?" Raven asked icily.

Robin turned to the other two and proceeded to scream at them for the noise.

"What is wrong with you?" Cyborg asked, pausing the game, and responding with unrestrained anger. "You think you can tell us what to do when all you do is abandon us for your own obsessions?"

Robin slammed his hand against the stereo and the room became eerily silent.

"I'm tired of all of you blaming your problems on my mistake. Get over yourselves!" he hissed and then the storm was unleashed.

The four Titans began screaming and several curses were mixed with insults. Starfire watched her friends tear each other apart and felt tears come to her eyes.

"STOP!" she shouted and the others instantly shut up at her exclamation.

Starfire wasn't one to lose her temper or her patience and she had been the peacemaker in the previous weeks of distance and false normalcy between the team. But, she had had enough of the bickering.

"Today is not a day of hate and anger and fighting. It is Blorthog. The Day of Friendship. We have not been acting like friends and I fear soon we will be nothing of the sort."

"What do you mean, Star?" Beast Boy asked.

"If friendship is not valued, a Rekma occurs."

"Rekma?" Cyborg inquired.

"The drifting of friends and the ultimate death of friendship." She let her head droop in sadness.

"Whoa, our friendship isn't dying. We're going through a rough patch, sure, but this Rekma won't happen." Robin said.

"Sure about that?" Raven muttered and Robin glared at her, feeling all his anger at her avoidance of him swell.

"No, I'm not. Being friends with you has become the hardest thing in my life. I'm starting to think it's not worth it."

Raven looked like she had been slapped. Her amethyst eyes were covered by a glossy sheen and she was surprised to feel tears forming. Robin winced at the effect of his words. He wasn't thinking straight. He hadn't meant that.

"Raven-

"Don't speak to me again. Have a _Happy _Blorthog." She said bitterly, using her magic to take the necklaces from Star and throw them at Robin, who managed to catch one.

The other necklaces hit the ground and broke, spilling beads in every direction. Before anyone could fully grasp what had happened, the alarm rang.

"Trouble." Starfire whispered, but she wasn't referring to the reported robbery.

She watched the beads she'd strung together with so much hope and saw them reduced to nothing on the floor between the team.

Aqualad had been right. And now Blorthog was ruined. Perhaps their friendship was as well.

* * *

The Titans were not mentally prepared for a battle, but of course they had no choice. They arrived at the technological museum in silence, entering in their rigid battle formation.

"Stop right there!" Robin commanded when a man in a gold suit, who had grabbed an antique clock from one of the museum display cases.

"The Teen Titans." The villain turned around with an arrogant grin. "My my, it's been a long time."

"We've never met." Cyborg said, holding his sonic cannon out threateningly, though the villain just laughed.

"Oh yes, I forget I am the one who travels through time."

"A time traveler!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Warp, at your service." The villain bowed mockingly. "This has been fun, Titans, but I'm afraid I must go now."

"You're not going anywhere, thief." Robin growled. "Titans, go!"

The team rushed forward. Cyborg shot a sonic blast at Warp, but he moved out of the way and released his own blast from a small weapon in his suit. Beast Boy charged at him in rhinoceros form, but Warp smiled, seeming to expect this move and shot a blast of energy at him so the rhino's momentum faltered and he crashed into Starfire. Raven swept down next, chanting her mantra, and throwing marble stands at him.

"Ah, Raven, is it? It is particularly nice to see you now. In the future? Not so nice."

Raven frowned at the vague statement and tried to trap him in a black energy bubble. Warp dismissed her move as he had the others and blasted her back with his advanced weaponry.

"Ta ta, Titans." Warp grinned, opening a portal to return to the future with his stolen treasure.

"You forgot one." Robin said, kicking the villain to the side before he could enter the portal.

"On the contrary, Robin, I knew you'd be the last one standing, not that it will do you any good." Warp threw an explosive bomb at Robin, knocking him backwards and making him cough and swipe the air for visibility.

Warp laughed and jumped into his portal.

"You won't get away that easy!" Robin said, jumping after him.

"No!" Raven screamed.

She rushed forward to follow, but the portal shut before she could reach its entrance.

"Where did he go?" Beast Boy asked in the quiet of Robin's departure.

"Somewhere we can't reach him." Cyborg's head was bowed.

Starfire knelt next to her best friend and pulled her into an embrace. She didn't speak because she knew words were futile in that moment, but she held the trembling girl closer. There was nothing more she could do.

* * *

Robin knew he'd made a rash decision and hurling through the time space continuum with a futuristic villain was not his idea of fun. He hadn't concerned himself with being lost through time or dying along the way. He'd been so immersed in the battle, he hadn't thought of anything else. Robin was still reeling from what happened with Raven. He'd hurt her with his words, as if she hadn't suffered enough because of him. He hadn't had time to apologize because of Warp and he'd been pissed. Robin coped with training and fierce battle so here he was. Battling through the timeline of the world's existence.

Robin had tried kicking at the villain, but Warp would dodge and push him back. He seemed to be fiddling with a device on his armor. Robin examined it and assumed the advanced machinery was what allowed Warp to time travel. He thrust his body forward, knocking Warp to one side and gripping his arm to rip off the device.

"Fool! Do you know what you have done?!" Warp shouted but Robin did not answer.

The pulsating space around them was shifting and a portal opened underneath them. They were pulled down and Robin felt like a current was shocking him as he fell. He couldn't keep his eyes open and he felt his body go limp as the time continuum deposited him in a familiar city.

* * *

Robin woke up groggy and disoriented in a dirty alley. He assumed he was in Gotham because of the darkness of the air and the grimy streets, but when he stood to further explore the area, he was shocked to recognize it as Jump City. Where were the noisy civilians wandering the streets or teenage couples walking around holding hands to be romantic? Where were the honking cars and screaming children? It had to be late afternoon or so. Jump City was never this quiet.

"Oh my God." He murmured when he came across Jump City Park-or what used to be Jump City Park.

Everything was rubble and ashes. In fact, most of the shops and restaurants nearby mirrored the park. He'd been distracted by the unfamiliar silence to see that Jump City looked like a fire had decimated it. But if the city was burnt, where were the people?

He got his answer minutes later when he saw the first stone statue. By the two hundredth one Robin knew something horrible had happened. Far off in the distance, he saw Titan Tower, which stood almost like always with the exception of several missing chunks of the tower and the absence of the tower's illuminated exterior. It looked like no one was home. Where were the Titans? How did they let this happen?

* * *

"Hello?" Robin called. "Raven! Starfire! Cyborg! Beast Boy!"

There was no response.

"Where are you guys?!" he said in frustration.

"Robin?" an incredulous voice came from behind him.

Robin whirled in his position at the center of the decrepit living room and felt his eyes widen.

"Cyborg?"

The once shining animatronic body parts had grayed and Cyborg's entire body seemed aged and worn. He had deep circles under his eyes and he walked slowly as if he were carrying the weight of the world.

"It can't be. You disappeared, man. You… were lost forever." Cyborg had moved close enough that Robin could see why the android's speed had decreased.

He was plugged into an ancient battery pack with a mess of wires stemming from the pack.

"Cyborg, what happened here? Why haven't you repaired yourself or the tower? Why the city destroyed and the people turned to stone? Where are the others?"

The barrage of questions caused Cyborg to blink tiredly. It had been so long since he'd been in the contact of another human. He had lost all hope. Yet, there was his leader as young as ever, like two decades had not changed the course of Earth irreparably.

"Do you know where you are, Robin?"

"Jump City."

"Jump City in what time?"

Robin slapped a hand to his forehead.

"This is the future. When I tore the device from Warp's armor, I changed his destination. We both ended up here somewhere. How far into the future is this?"

"Twenty years have passed since you and Warp disappeared in that portal."

"Twenty years? Shit."

"The world's gone, Robin."

"What?"

"There are precisely two survivor on this planet, not including you and Warp. I don't know where the other survivor is."

Robin ran a hand through his hair, utterly confused.

"You have to explain this to me. How was the world destroyed? How did you survive it?"

Cyborg considered the questions and ruminated over what to respond. Robin couldn't know that Raven had a prophecy that brought about the apocalypse and her demon father as the ruler of the human race. He couldn't know that the Titans hadn't been able to save Raven from the prophecy and that she was lost to them forever. He couldn't know how hard the Titans, miraculously saved from death by a cocoon of Raven's dark magic, had fought and the weary alliance they'd formed with Slade to kill Trigon. He couldn't know how the team fell apart in his absence. He simply couldn't know.

"There are things I can't reveal because it could affect the time continuum and keep you from ever escaping this hell. What I can say is there was a battle for this planet against the very incarnation of evil and we lost."

"How did you survive?"

"We defeated this great evil. We almost sold our souls to do so, but we did."

"Then how did this come to be?" Robin gestured to the barren wasteland behind him.

Cyborg gazed out at the city he had once sworn to protect and remembered clearly how he'd failed the world. He had lost his little sister and along the way lost himself.

"We… lost one of our own and without her help there was no way to return the world to what it had been. Those of us that survived the battle were left with this as the prize. An empty, dead land."

"Wait. _Her_. Cyborg, where is Starfire?" Robin was forcing himself to stay calm.

"She went back to Tamaran after the battle. She was never the same after the end."

Robin's blood went cold and he felt his breathing speed up.

"Where…. is Raven?"

Cyborg glared at the floor and his hands tightened at his side, giving Robin the answer to his question.

"She's dead." Robin's face was blank.

"She didn't make it to the end of the battle. Without her help, we couldn't save the world."

The android's body crumpled up and he fell onto the dirty couch, putting his head in his hands. Robin didn't know what to do with himself. The future was something he had never been fixated on, but seeing it as it was left him breathless. Earth was destroyed, the Titans had disbanded and disconnected from reality, and the girl he cared for most in his life was dead. And he hadn't been there to help his teammates.

"No. I don't accept this. It can't be true."

"I wish it wasn't."

"No! No! It isn't true. It will not be true! I can fix this, Cyborg. I can turn back time and save us all."

"Warp's probably gone by now."

"No, I ripped a piece off his suit. He can't open any time portals without it, it's a regulator for the time vortexes. He needs to get another one, which means I know where is. The technology museum where this all began. We need to get there and defeat him so I can return to my time."

Cyborg sighed.

"I can't help you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't leave the tower anymore." He pointed to the heap of wires on his back.

"Repair yourself and come with me!" Robin growled.

"I can't, man. I'm sorry. It's all over now."

"It's not over until I say it is. Where's Beast Boy?"

"He went into hiding after the end, resorting to animal form to escape all this. I haven't seen him in years and we're the only people still breathing on this planet."

"Give me your communicator. I dropped mine in the time vortex."

"Robin-

"I refuse to live in a world where Raven isn't living, okay?! I will not resign myself to her death and the deaths of everyone on this planet. This is our home, Cyborg? Don't you want to save it?"

The android took a deep breath and then pulled out an old communicator, flipping it open and pressing the button to turn it on and connect it to all other communicators. He tossed it at Robin, who caught it and began speaking.

"Calling all Titans. Beast Boy, Starfire. I know the world's gone to shit and I know you're tired of it, but I need your help. I can change this future. I can save the world and I can bring Raven back. But I can't do it without you. We're a team but more than that we're friends. I guess it took the end of the world to make me see that again." He said regretfully.

He was thinking about Starfire's attempts to celebrate Blorthog day and the growing rift between the team because of his mistakes. And then he thought about his fight with Raven. Raven, who had been destroyed in an apocalypse and whose last encounter with him had been a biting argument, where he'd hurt her feelings.

"I'll be at the museum. If you're helping me good, if not, I'm not afraid to this on my own." Robin spoke into the communicator but kept his eyes fixed on Cyborg.

The older man rubbed a hand over his worn face but only sighed in response. Robin snapped the communicator shut and gave it back to Cyborg.

"Are you coming with me?"

"I can't." Cyborg looked at the wires tying him down to the tower, but Robin scoffed.

"Don't bullshit me, Cy. You're a technological wizard. A few wires wouldn't stop you if you really cared to help me."

Robin left the Tower the way he had come in, striding determinedly to the museum where his way home and his way to a still untainted world lay.

* * *

Beast Boy watched the dilapidated communicator vibrate and flash a bright red, but he didn't move towards it. He had resumed his human form after a year of living completely in the wild and he was already regretting it. Humanity was painful and lonely. The only survivor on Earth was Cyborg and seeing his closest friend no longer brought him joy. Cyborg had been broken by his little sister's death and the fact that Robin hadn't been there had led all of them into complete disarray and disbandment.

Starfire left first. She said she was sorry many times, but the others hadn't blamed her. The once radiant girl had dulled and her emerald eyes became a muted moss green. She had lost her leader first and then her best friend, along with the world she'd cherished and the man she'd loved and planned to marry. Raven had left enough residual magic to shield her teammates, but she hadn't been able to shield anyone else. Aqualad was a stone statute somewhere and Starfire couldn't bear to see that. She was ruling Tamaran as she was supposed to and maybe she'd found some semblance of happiness.

Beast Boy left soon after, regretful at abandoning the city and Cyborg, but too distraught to stay and see the consequences of his failures. He'd flown to Africa and spent his days wandering the land as a variety of creatures. When he resumed human form he hadn't meant to stay that way for long, but the ringing communicator had disconcerted him. Who would be calling? Cyborg? Starfire? There could be no one else… could there?

Pure curiosity prompted him to open his communicator and discover a voice he hadn't heard in two decades.

* * *

"Princess Koriand'r?"

Starfire turned mechanically at the official title.

"Yes, Master Friand'r?" she forced a smile at her trusted advisor.

"You are receiving a message from the planet we once knew as Earth but remains a wasteland."

"A message?'

Master Friand'r held up her Teen Titans communicator and Starfire gasped.

"It has been so long. So long." She spoke almost to herself and the master cleared his throat.

"Do you wish to hear it or should I remove this device from our palace?"

Starfire did not answer immediately. Did she want to remember the past she'd run from? She had virtually abandoned her friends, who had been suffering just as she had been. She felt guilt but more than that she felt an immense sense of lost. Raven was gone. Robin had never returned. Cyborg and Beast Boy had tried to make a normal life work, but she could not pretend any normalcy when the world burned around her. She had gone to Tamaran cravenly, but her home planet offered security and the presence of living creatures. It was something, at least.

"Princess?"

Starfire blinked and held out a steady hand.

"I will listen to this message."

She wasn't prepared for the voice that emanated from the communicator she'd contemplated destroying but could never bring herself to do. Starfire was and would always be a hopeless romantic, a dreamer, and a believer. She had lost most of herself, this was true, but Robin's message sparked the pure energy she'd once displayed freely.

"Master Friand'r?"

"Princess?"

"I will be departing for Earth now. You are in charge of the kingdom while I am away."

"B-but Princess?"

Starfire zoomed from the throne room before he could further question the decision.

* * *

Robin was losing. And he knew it.

Warp had regained his advanced technology and was seconds away from opening a portal to his own time when Robin slammed through the door, throwing explosive discs at him. Warp had been distracted, but not defeated. He knew Robin already and held technology and knowledge far beyond the average person due to his time traveling.

Robin had been blasted backwards with a ray that drained his strength and made him groggy and weak.

"Farewell, Robin, I trust you will enjoy this version of your precious city." Warp chuckled but when he moved to activate his time vortex, a sonic cannon slammed into his side.

"Boo-yah."

Cyborg blew smoke from his cannon and stood beside Robin, smiling down at him.

"You came."

"You were convincing, bird boy. And any opportunity to get Raven back is a necessary one."

"Fools! Even together you cannot defeat me! I am Warp, the time traveler, the vortex creator, the-

A feral lion attacked him from behind, biting off a sizable chunk of his lower suit.

"You talk too much." Beast Boy said, once in human form.

"Beast Boy!" Robin exclaimed.

"I can't believe it's you." The changeling gaped at his former leader. "We thought we'd never see you again."

"I know. It's my responsibility to fix my rash judgment and fix our future."

"Good. Maybe in a better future, I'll have my hair back." He pointed to his balding head and Robin grinned.

"No promises."

"BB." Cyborg nodded once.

"Cy."

"Glad to see you."

"You too. Sorry about-

"Don't mention it." Cyborg waved the apology off.

They'd all had mourning to do and each had different methods of coping. No one could be blamed for that.

"You think the shape-shifter changes anything?" Warp picked himself up and glared at the assembled group before him. "I still hold the time vortex and without, no one's going anywhere."

"I believe you are mistaken there. You are the one who shall not be leaving this place."

Starfire appeared from the skies like a furious goddess from Greek mythology. Her eyes glowed with green energy and she shot a powerful blast from her hands at Warp's feet, causing the villain to fall once again. This time, Beast Boy surged forward in leopard form to rip the time vortex off Warp's wrist. Starfire shot another bolt at Warp, rendering him unconscious as Cyborg fiddled with the device.

"Robin, it brings me great joy to see you again. The days have been difficult." Starfire pulled him into a tight hug that hurt his every bone but he didn't protest.

"I know, but I can change all this."

She gave a small smile at him and at her other teammates, but the four gathered together only made the absence of one Titans blaringly obvious.

"It's done." Cyborg's voice was weary but powerful.

A portal opened behind Robin and the three others stepped back to avoid getting sucked in.

"It is time for you to return to us." Starfire smiled.

"Yeah, dude, go back home and tell younger me that unless he keeps constantly active, he'd getting a beer gut." Beast Boy patted his belly.

"Go, Robin. Save us. Save Raven."

"Thank you, Cyborg. Thank you, all of you." Robin knelt next to the incapacitated Warp to retrieve the stolen clock and then turned to his teammates once more.

They watched him silently and he waved a final goodbye before jumping into the closing portal.

* * *

"No!" Raven screamed as the portal closed.

"Where did he go?" Beast Boy asked in the quiet of Robin's departure.

"Somewhere we can't reach him." Cyborg said sadly.

Starfire was pulling Raven into a comforting embrace when another portal opened seconds later and Robin appeared, looking exhausted as he clutched an antique clock in one hand.

"History said it was lost. History was wrong." His eyes searched Raven's and he forgot about clocks and time space continuums when he met her violet gaze.

"Dude, where did you go?!" Beast Boy flailed his arms in confusion and Robin knew he owed them an explanation.

"It's a long story." He breathed.

* * *

"That's incredible." Cyborg said after Robin finished the tale of his time travel.

"That the world went to hell?" Beast Boy asked, puzzled.

"No, grass stain! It's incredible what a time vortex can do. Warp created a horrible future for all of us, a future where we suffered through every day of our existence."

"Warp didn't do that." Robin said.

"What do you mean, friend Robin?"

"We created that future ourselves. Starfire was right. We were drifting apart and treating each other unfairly. The future reflected our behavior from the past few weeks. If we continued like that, we could have ended up with a future as bad as the one I saw."

"What do we do?" Beast Boy inquired.

"Well, we can start by celebrating Blorthog the proper way." Robin picked up the necklace he'd caught earlier and put it on Starfire's neck.

"Glorious! I shall prepare more of the bead necklaces!" Starfire flew to her room.

"I'll take care of lunch." Beast Boy declared, but Cyborg grabbed him by the collar of the uniform.

"Oh no you don't. We are not throwing up tofu surprise on a day like this one. I'm cooking. You can wash the dishes for me."

"Aw man!"

The two's familiar argument faded away behind the kitchen door and Robin was left with Raven, who sat on the end of the couch, hugging her legs to her chest with an almost painful force.

"I died." She finally spoke in a whisper Robin had to strain to hear.

"Yes."

"How?"

"I-I'm not sure. Future Cyborg couldn't reveal that information to me."

Raven nodded but her thoughts lay on her prophecy. In the future, the apocalypse had come and she had not survived it. Without Robin, she hadn't been strong enough to overcome the influence of her father and she had destroyed everything, including herself.

"Rae?"

"I'm scared." She admitted.

"So am I."

She raised her eyes to meet his masked gaze.

"When I saw the ruins of Jump City and the ruins of our tower, I was thinking the worst. And even then when Cyborg told me you had died, I wasn't prepared for what was truly the worst thing that could happen. That you were gone and I hadn't done anything to help you."

"You couldn't have, Robin. You had been stuck through time vortexes."

"It would still be my fault."

"No. This is on all of us, including me. What happened with you as Slade's apprentice hurt us more than we wished to believe. We pushed this issue to the depths of our souls but the problem remained. I picked fights with you and caused a stress on our friendship. I apologize."

"I wasn't exactly helping my case by faking the days and then snapping so horribly at you. What I said, Raven, was wrong and I'm sorry."

"I know. I understand."

There was a moment of silence before Robin stood from where he sat at the center of the couch and moved to where Raven sat.

"You can't begin to comprehend what I felt when I knew you were dead." He pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her hair with one hand as the other rested on her waist.

Raven had been initially surprised and almost flinched at the sudden contact, but Robin's warmth and the gentle push of his aura against her was soothing. She closed her eyes and breathed in Robin's scent, content to remain there forever.

She wouldn't tell him that she had felt a part of her break when he jumped into the portal and she thought he'd never return. She wouldn't tell him that the second she saw him safe in front of them again, she had forgiven and forgotten all that had happened with Slade. She could tell him at another time because now wasn't the moment for talking. It was just a moment to enjoy. The future and its problems could wait until later.


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I haven't updated in forever and I apologize! AP season is next month and teachers are driving me crazy with work. I won't abandon this, my readers, so don't give up on me if I take a while to post a new chapter. I love all of my readers and followers! Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews.**

**Every Dog Has Its Day**

Garfield Logan had grown up lonely. His parents loved him and treasured him as their only child, but their focus lay in their scientific work and researching genetic mutations always came first to the happiness of their son. The Logans moved permanently to the African plains to study animal diseases and pathology and their teenage son was forced to tag along. The few friends he'd had at school became distant memories and Garfield found himself talking to elephants and zebras for company.

Things had been bearable until the day of his fourteenth birthday. Garfield woke up, expecting homemade cake and hand crafted presents, any zany display of affection his parents were known to do. Instead, he received nothing. His parents weren't even in the large two room tent they all lived in. There was cold beef jerky and soggy eggs waiting for him on the table with a single dilapidated orange.

His parents arrived late that night, bone-tired but exhilarated with their findings. A rare mutagen affecting various animals in a strange strain no scientist had been able to decipher had finally been collected. The green mutagen floated aimlessly in the small beaker Garfield's mother held. The Logans had planned to examine the mutagen that night and head to bed, but they hadn't expected their son's outburst.

"You forgot about me! Again! The people responsible for my birth don't even remember it!" he had shouted.

"Oh, Garfield." His mother whispered sorrowfully.

They tried to assuage their son, but Garfield was furious and more than that… hurt. He yelled at them until his voice was hoarse, blaming them for his solitary existence and for his isolation from the world. As his arms swept wildly about, Garfield didn't notice he'd caught his mother off-guard and her grip on the mutagen beaker loosened so in one arm movement the beaker flew out of her hands and seemed suspended in time between the three Logans. Seconds later it had exploded into shards of gas and splashes of mutagen.

Garfield fell unconscious. When he woke up his life had changed. He was no longer human. His fair skin had turned the shade of moss. His pale blue eyes were as green as his skin. He had elongated canines in his mouth and his body felt different. Wilder. Almost like… an animal. He was so stunned with his new body, he failed to notice the still shapes of his parents in front of him. It turned out the animal mutagen that had turned Garfield Logan into Beast Boy was lethal and by some miracle Garfield hadn't died from the assault of the mutagen into his DNA. His parents were not as lucky.

Beast Boy was forced to learn the extent of his new body and new abilities alone. He kept the memories of his parents locked away in the recesses of his mind, blaming himself for their deaths and for the mutation of his body.

The carefree Titan was only so externally. He, like his teammates, had his inner demons.

* * *

That morning of a particularly windy November marked the anniversary of his parents' deaths. Beast Boy had woken up gasping for breath after a vivid memory turned nightmare of their deaths flashed through his mind. He had taken a shower and forced his facial features into the goofy expression his teammates were used to. He hadn't mentioned his status as an orphan to any of the others, not even Cyborg, who he felt closest to on the team. It was a private thing and sensitive to him because of the guilt he felt at their deaths.

Beast Boy made himself a large breakfast of only vegan products, attempting to accumulate energy and strength to get through the day. He hoped his friends could take his mind off such a dismal occasion, so he went to them one by one to find a companion for the day. Unfortunately, the other four were wrapped up in their own plans and unaware of what the day meant to the green Titan, they dismissed him with a brush of the shoulder.

Beast Boy collapsed on his bed and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Things were not going well. If he couldn't keep his mind off it, he would inevitably fall back into the past and drown. He had been lucky Mento and the Doom Patrol found him wandering the African plains and took him as their own. The team had shaped him as a hero and a man, allowing him to forget about his past for a while. When he left the Doom Patrol, he'd sought a place where he felt he'd fit in better and where his abilities would be put to better use. The Teen Titans had been that team. Beast Boy loved Jump City and he liked all his teammates (some more than others), but he still felt lost. It was like he was drifting at sea and could barely hold on to the rocky shores to keep himself afloat.

"I have to get out of here." He groaned and morphed into a hummingbird to escape the tower via his window.

Ten minutes later, a green dog was chasing its tail in the middle of Jump City Park. Beast Boy was enjoying the fresh air and sunlight, but he was still alone. What was the use of a beautiful day if there was no one to share it with?

"Aw, cute doggy! Come here, boy!" a feminine voice cooed.

Beast Boy whirled, wagging his tail as he saw two blonde girls about his age petting a brown terrier. He grinned.

_I can enjoy some human company as a dog, can't I?  
_He barked and bounded over to the girls, nuzzling their legs to get a pat on the head.

"Ew! Nasty green mutt, get away!" one of them shooed him away while the other grabbed the little terrier as if protecting him from Beast Boy.

The green dog whined and scampered off through darkening streets and alleys until he came to a field near the outskirts of town that was lined with woods. The dog fell to the ground and howled into its paws, the sounds coming out strangely human though it came from an animal.

On any other day, Beast Boy's reflexes and instincts would have been as sharp as the steely eyed leopard whose shape he often took. That day, however, Beast Boy could only gasp as a bright light invaded his senses and he felt himself lifted into the sky by an invisible force. The last thing he saw before fading into unconsciousness was a green dog that looked unsettlingly like he did, as if he were staring into a mirror.

The other dog grinned and winked at Beast Boy before trotting excitedly away.

* * *

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Az-ugh." Raven groaned.

She wasn't focused on her meditation and she knew the reason came in the form of a usually irritating green furball.

Beast Boy had knocked on her door early in the morning, so early the sun was barely shining, and asked her to do something or other with him. She had of course turned him down and resumed the studying of her spell books. Still, she had empathically felt the depths of Beast Boy's despair in his aura and she realized something was causing him pain.

_And knowing that you still turned him away. Why would you do such a thing?_

The voice of Intelligence made her pause.

"Beast Boy and I aren't close. In fact, he's the only teammate I feel no connection to."

_He's still a teammate. Do you think it right to ignore the pain of a teammate?_

"You seem more like Guilt than Intelligence." Raven crossed her arms, already knowing any argument was pointless.

_I'm always right, Raven. Accept it and move on. Go find Beast Boy. He needs you._

"Can't he need Cyborg or maybe Starfire?" she groaned.

Intelligence didn't bother responding and Raven huffed before teleporting to the living room where she assumed Beast Boy was spending his melancholic hours.

* * *

"Ow!" Beast Boy exclaimed as another jolt from the alien Soto's collar sent an electric shock through his system.

He had tried to escape, morphing into everything from a bear to a fly, but to no avail. Alien technology was no match for his originally human form.

Soto had lost his green dog and though Beast Boy had explained the other dog was running around Earth and he was a humble shape shifter, Soto had been more fascinated with him than with his lost dog. That had been Beast Boy's mistake. Now, he was stuck on a ship with a childlike stone-shaped alien that had total control over him and was planning on taking him to a galaxy far far away to display him at some alien zoo like a freak.

Beast Boy reluctantly shifted to a pelican and Soto clapped happily. He scampered off to check on some items he had under the ship's helm and Beast Boy shifted to human form, slipping to the ground forlornly and feeling tears stain his face.

He wiped them away and tried as hard as he could to forget the loss of his parents, but the upcoming loss of his freedom and loss of all he held dear was too much. His teammates wouldn't know how to find him because his communicator was dropped at the park miles from where he was. They didn't even know he was gone and when they did, it would be too late.

Beast Boy felt like the least necessary member of the team and his constantly busy teammates had no idea the pain he felt at feeling so useless. Raven and Robin were almost co-leaders the way they worked together, plus Raven had magic and Robin had enhanced human abilities, making him the aptly named Boy Wonder. Cyborg was a technological genius and Starfire was physically stronger than everyone but Superman and Wonder Woman. What was he?

"Nothing. I'm nothing." Beast Boy whispered and didn't bother lifting his head when Soto returned asking for a giraffe.

The next electric shock made his eyes water but he didn't give his captor the satisfaction of crying out.

* * *

"Is Beast Boy here?" Raven asked Robin, the only member in the room.

He gave her a confused look.

"Um, are you sure that's who you're looking for?"

"Is he here?" she asked impatiently.

"No. Is everything okay?"

Robin had picked up on her anxious determination. On top of that, Raven never voluntarily sought Beast Boy's presence. Something serious must have been occurring.

"Not really." She paused, closing her eyes and sending out her aura to scan the tower and confirmed that the changeling was not there at all. "He's gone."

"Then he'll be back later… Raven, tell me what's going on."

"I-I'm not exactly sure." She filled him in on Beast Boy's appearance at her door earlier and the feelings he'd been radiating.

Robin nodded.

"He interrupted my training session earlier. I accidentally socked him in the face. He ran off after that and I assumed he'd found attention from Cyborg or something."

"It's more than that. Today means something to him. Something important."

Robin scanned her face again and seeing the resolution he flipped open his communicator.

"Beast Boy's communicator reads that he's at the park. Get the others. We're going out to find him."

Raven gave him a silent look of gratitude and portaled through the floor to gather Cyborg and Starfire.

* * *

"Split up!" Robin ordered as the elusive green dog with a creepy fixation on Raven disappeared along the streets.

The team had found the dropped communicator and a green dog that looked like Beast Boy but was definitely not Beast Boy because it had morphed into a liquid and displayed a disgustingly slimy foot-long tongue. Still, it was their only clue to finding Beast Boy. Cyborg had connected the strange dog's appearance to the reports of a UFO spotted in Jump City and the team had set out to capture the dog and somehow track it to Beast Boy.

"Catch it in a sturdy container where it can't shift out and meet back here in fifteen!" Robin added and he and Raven took the left alley while Starfire and Cyborg took the right alley.

"Can't you wrap it in an energy bubble?" Robin asked the sorceress as they walked carefully down the darkened alley.

"It's an alien with constantly shifting DNA. It might find a way through my magic and somehow connect to my brain. I sense it knows more than it's allowing us to see."

Robin didn't speak again and the two continued in silence down the dark alley.

"What do you think today means?"

Raven knew he was referring to what the day signified for Beast Boy.

"Has he ever talked about his family?"

"No, but he isn't the only one."

That was true. Except for Starfire, none of the Titans had mentioned the past of their own volition. Little bits and pieces of their origins was revealed, but more secrets than not existed between the team.

"He's an orphan."

Robin stopped walking, forcing Raven to pause in front of him.

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't be, but he has the psychosis of a small child that never grew up. Perhaps because he didn't have the chance to. He was rushed into young adulthood and into the life of an outsider superhero without the help of any loved one."

"Most orphans become hardened from the toll of losing their childhood." The statement hit close to home for Robin. "Beast Boy walks around like everything's a joke."

"Everyone is different, Robin. Some orphans raise themselves and others are never truly raised. Beast Boy looks to us as his family and when we ignored him on a day where he was at his most vulnerable, he didn't know how to react and he ran off. Today is most likely the day he lost his parents: October 18th."

_May 23__rd__, the day I watched my parents' rope snap. The last day they told me they told me they loved me. The last day of my childhood._

"Robin?"

"There he is." Robin schooled his features into his usual seriousness and moved forward as Raven's purple eyes examined him, searching for what had made his aura darken so easily.

* * *

"Let me get this straight. You're an alien from a world where stone creatures own domestic animals and have the IQ of a donut?" Cyborg summarized.

"Correct." The green dog responded with a happy smile.

The Titans had managed to corner the dog and trap him in one of Cyborg's specially made containers. It hadn't been that difficult to get him to talk. He was friendly and courteous as he sat in front of them, wagging his green tail as he described his master, Soto, and his crash-landing on Earth.

"I used the crash to escape him. He can be quite nasty when he wants to be. Quick temper and all. He had a collar placed on me that sent electric volts through my body if I ever disobeyed."

"Beast Boy!" Starfire cried out.

"I do fear your friend's safety to be temporary. Soto will be leaving this planet soon. If he manages to leave, I can promise you will never see your friend again."

"Then you better take us to your leader." Cyborg said.

* * *

The ship was a hulking thing and Raven couldn't imagine what type of alien needed a ship that size to travel alone. She got her answer soon enough. Soto emerged from the vessel when he heard the Titans arrive.

The fight began instantaneously with Cyborg launching sonic blasts from his cannon and Starfire following suit with her starbolts. Robin threw an array of explosives in bomb and disc form, but Raven held back. She could sense Beast Boy inside the ship but his mind and aura were not vivid and alive as they usually were. He must have been unconscious or…

She didn't want to think about the other option, so she grabbed the alien dog and teleported inside the ship.

"Beast Boy!" she rushed forward at the prone form of the changeling. "That collar. Remove it."

"I would appreciate if you did not raise your voice, dear. I am right next to you." The dog grinned and Raven's eyes flashed white.

"Remove it or I remove you from this realm of existence."

"You have a problem with anger, I see." He replied but did as she said.

"Beast Boy?"

The boy groaned but gradually raised himself to a sitting position.

"Raven? You found me?"

"We all did."

"H-how?"

"Nice to see you again, green one." The dog chirped.

"Why is that dog talking?"

"Not now. If we distract Soto, can you put the shock collar on him?" Raven addressed the dog.

"Certainly. Brilliant idea. You are the smart one in the group, I presume?"

"Distract that monster? I think I have a few ways to do that." Beast Boy's eyes darkened and he cracked his knuckles.

"Do you have any wounds for me to heal?"

"None that matter. Let's send this crazy alien back to where he came from."

Raven nodded and teleported the three of them to the scene of the battle.

* * *

The fight didn't last long once Beast Boy entered it. He had a lot of anger and energy to burn and his Tyrannosaurus form had never been as fierce as it was that day.

The Titans had embraced their friend and when they'd returned to the Tower Beast Boy had confessed the day had been particularly sensitive to him because it was the anniversary of his parent's deaths.

"I just always felt responsible, you know?" the changeling's eyes were misty.

"But it was not your fault. Not in the slightest." Robin said.

Raven's brow furrowed at the sudden intensity in her leader's voice.

"I-I know. It hadn't been easy for me with the way I look and the way I am, but I'm glad I met you guys. I may have lost my parents, but I haven't lost all my family." Beast Boy smiled and he turned to Raven.

"Thanks for finding me first, Rae. I didn't think you cared so much."

She rolled her eyes.

"I don't."

"Aw, I don't believe you anymore!" He morphed into dog form and knocked her down, licking her face enthusiastically before running from the room.

"Beast Boy!" she growled.

* * *

Robin's nightmares refused to calm and he spent an hour tossing in bed before shoving the covers aside and making his way to the kitchen for a glass of lemonade. Maybe some television could remove the agonizing slideshow of images from his parents' deaths. Beast Boy's pain over the loss of his parents had brought back Robin's compartmentalized pain and made it impossible to ignore.

He sipped the lemonade slowly and sat on the couch, staring at the black screen of the T.V. without the actual intention of turning it on.

"Planning on watching anything or is the television screen entertaining enough on its own?" the sarcastic voice didn't surprise him.

"I couldn't sleep."

"That's obvious."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't recall asking you about it."

"But you were going to."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Her answer was noncommittal and she joined him silently on the couch.

Time passed in the same silence until Robin couldn't take it anymore.

"How did you know about today? How did you guess Beast Boy was an orphan?"

Raven blinked in confusion at the slight edge to his tone, as if he were mad at her.

"I read his aura. It was a melancholy only associated with losing a loved one."

"Have you read my aura?"

She paused.

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You know about me too, don't you?"

"Robin-

"That's right, I'm an orphan. I lost my parents and lost my childhood and my life was a screwed up thing that Batman tried to fix by giving me a mask and cape. I don't blame him, I mean what else do you do with an acrobatic boy with the skills of a detective? I became Robin to escape my past and now I face my parents in my nightmares. I'm a disgrace. They look down at me and shake their heads in shame."

"No. Your parents are not ashamed of you, Robin. You've become a hero, someone who fights for those who can't. You lead a team of outcasts and rejects but you do it proudly. We owe our success to you and we can only thank you for being who you are. I told you everyone deals with things differently. If your method of handling pain and the past is to bury it, so be it. It may not be right, but who can judge you for it? You love your parents and that's what counts. You have not forgotten them and you have not forsaken them. You fight for them and you strive to be better for them."

Robin contemplated her words and felt something inside him settle. It was like a dam had been bursting in his chest, bruising his insides. Raven's words had calmed him and he realized she had spoken the truth. He owed who he was to his parents and to Bruce Wayne. He became Robin to save the world and that's what he was doing.

"I don't know how to thank you for this."

"Then don't." she stood, hood up, and made to leave the room. "I'll always be there for you, Robin, as you are for me. Let's leave it at that."

He smiled in the darkness of the room long after she'd left.


End file.
